


Maybe Someday

by hailey_writes



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Closeted Character, F/F, Fluff, Romance, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailey_writes/pseuds/hailey_writes
Summary: A regretful April wants to mend her relationship with Sterling after the lock-in. (Episode 10 spoilers)
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 105
Kudos: 746





	1. Chapter One

The night of the lock-in seemed like it would never end. As April sat on the couch next to Luke while _Prince of Egypt_ played in the background, she wondered if she had made the right decision. Rejecting Sterling had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but with Daddy Dearest cleared of his charges and home for the foreseeable future, what choice did she have?

She still felt a bit ill from earlier that afternoon, when he had knocked on her bedroom door and asked if she’d seen Blair and Sterling Wesley recently. That was so random. As far as he knew, she and the Wesleys had been sworn enemies since the fifth grade. Maybe he had already heard something. After all, she did make out with Sterling at the arcade in a moment of horny foolishness. Someone could have seen them and told him, although that wouldn’t explain why he had also asked about Blair. Nevertheless, just hearing Sterling’s name come out of his mouth put the fear of God into April, and that was why she had to break the pretty blonde’s heart.

Luke scooted uncomfortably close, snapping April out of her thoughts. She waited a couple of seconds so as to seem less suspicious, then moved her leg away from his. Flirting with him earlier was a terrible mistake. A boyfriend would be good for her public image, but there was no way she would be able to stomach kissing Luke. Sure, he was a sweet, dumb boy who enjoyed her _Star Wars_ jokes, but he was still a boy. He also chewed his pizza open-mouthed like some sort of barbarian. Disgusting. The only person April wanted to kiss was Sterling, and now she wouldn’t get to ever again. Well, maybe someday, but Sterling said she wasn’t sure, so that really meant no. Didn’t it?

April glanced down at her phone for the fifth time in the span of two minutes. No notifications. Not that she expected a text from Sterling after what happened. Still, she couldn’t help but worry whether she had made it home safely. Should she text her and ask? If only there were someone around with whom she could debate the pros and cons...

“You’re not watching the movie,” Luke observed.

She forced a smile and whispered back, “You know I’d rather be watching _Star Wars_.”

April felt a sudden pang of jealousy and turned her attention back to the movie. Looking at Luke’s face was too much right now because he had gotten to be with Sterling for years. He had gotten to take her on dates in public, meet her family, and do other things to her that April could only dream of. 

She grabbed her phone and moved to get up. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Her eyes brimmed with hot tears. She quickened the pace of her steps, opting to walk down a couple of extra hallways to the bathroom the farthest away from the group. The last thing she needed was for anyone to see her crying. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty. April locked herself in the stall on the very end and let the tears flow. Just that morning, she had the girl who haunted her dreams since the fifth grade: Sterling Wesley. Now, she had no one.

April pulled out her phone and opened the camera roll. The most recent set of pictures featured Sterling and herself cuddled up in the back seat of the Chevy Volt in the parking lot of the abandoned mall across town. It was right after their afternoon at the arcade. Neither one of them had been ready to go home, so they just sat in the car for another hour, just enjoying each other’s presence between kisses. In the first picture, she was resting her head on Sterling’s shoulder while the other girl draped an arm around her, pulling her in as close as possible. In the second, she was blissfully kissing Sterling’s cheek. Her thumb hovered over the delete button. After all, they were over, and those pictures were so incriminating. But she couldn’t bring herself to press that button. Those two pictures were the only tangible reminder April had of the sole time in her entire life that a girl actually returned her feelings. That was something she had considered beyond the realm of possibility for years, right up until Sterling grabbed her face in Ellen’s office and kissed her like the world was ending. Oh, how she wished she was back in that moment again. A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed against the screen. 

And the worst part? Even though this whole night was nothing but her own damn fault, she still ached to be comforted by Sterling. Her father was back, for God’s sake! She had never been one for hugs, but with Sterling, she couldn’t get enough. All April could think about was how terribly she needed to be wrapped up in Sterling’s arms, breathe in the ethereal scent of her perfume, and hear that it’s going to be okay. Maybe if she hadn’t immediately frozen up and reverted to her old ways, she could have finally hammered the message of why she couldn’t be out yet through Sterling’s thick, stupid, gorgeous head. Maybe she would have even been sneaking off to hook up with her in this bathroom stall instead of crying her eyes out.

She closed the camera roll and opened up Messages, willing herself not to look at her texting history with Sterling. It was filled with too many hearts and kissing emojis, the sight of which might cause her to vomit. She typed out a single message as quickly as possible and hit send.

**To: Sterling Wesley 💘 (9:37 p.m.)**

_I hope you made it home safely._

April wiped her eyes. No one could know that she had been crying because they might ask why, and she didn’t have the mental bandwidth to prepare a feasible lie. She checked her face carefully in the mirror before to ensure any signs of her anguish were gone before rejoining the group. She emerged from the bathroom, not a single hair out of place, and sat back down next to Luke on the couch for the remainder of the movie. 

Each minute that ticked by seemed like a year. April continued to sneak glances down at her phone, hoping for a reply. She couldn’t be too obvious, lest Ellen accuse her of being “MOBOT” again. But she had no luck. It was glaringly obvious that Sterling wanted nothing to do with her. April’s heart sank at the thought of going back to being sworn enemies come Monday morning. She dreaded putting on her best bitch face and berating her dream girl like she dreaded the next time Daddy referenced a future son-in-law.

Lights out couldn’t come fast enough. April was glad she managed to snag a corner spot for her sleeping bag so she could face the wall. That way, no other fellow insomniacs could see if a rogue tear or two managed to slip out. Unfortunately, she was still stuck sleeping next to Luke, who was sticking out of his guitar-shaped sleeping bag at an awkward angle and already snoring. Ugh, boys. 

April already knew she wouldn’t be getting her full eight hours. Her thoughts hadn’t stopped racing since her encounter with her father. If he ever found out about her little tryst with Sterling, she’d be shipped off to Camp Pray The Gay Away faster than she could say “rainbows.” And now that she knew he was capable of violence toward women, she also had to worry about what he might do to Sterling. What if he beat her like he did to that sex worker? Worse yet, what if he shot her and killed her? The mere thought made her anxiety skyrocket. How could she live with herself if she was the root cause of physical harm to Sterling? As much as she hated it, April figured that continuing to be enemies with Sterling in public might be the best way to protect her. Especially if her father was already looking for her for whatever reason.

It still pained her, though. Sure, she had been mean to Sterling for years without a second thought, but things were different now that April knew what her lips tasted like and how her hands felt underneath her shirt. The other girl deserved an apology at the absolute minimum, despite the unfortunate fact that they couldn’t hook up as long as Daddy was a free man.

**To: Sterling Wesley 💘 (12:54 a.m.)**

_It’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me, but I’m sorry I acted like such a bitch._

This time, the message didn’t even deliver. Of course Sterling blocked her number! That was all the confirmation April needed that it was over.

Sterling hated her, and she deserved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for making it this far! This is my first time writing a fanfic in about six years and my first ever to post on this site. I love this show and these characters so much and feel so inspired by them. 
> 
> This will be multi-chapter, although I am not sure yet exactly how many there will be.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blair confronts April about her bad behavior.

Sterling didn’t show up to school the following Monday. April sat in her front-row seat in Spanish class, their first class of the day on Mondays, anxiously awaiting for her to arrive. She gave up hope when Blair appeared without Sterling. That was bizarre. April couldn't remember the last time she had seen the Wesley twins apart during school hours. 

As the other Wesley walked through the aisle to take her seat, she shot April the nastiest look she had ever seen on another person’s face. Truly, it was an icy bitch stare to rival her very own. April would be lying if she pretended like it didn’t send a little chill down her spine. If looks could kill, she’d be bleeding out on the floor. The fact that she knew that Blair knew her deepest, most carefully-guarded secret only made matters worse. 

April glanced back at Blair a couple of times during the lesson, her anxiety building more and more each time the other girl caught her eye. Her mind raced with possibilities. There could be a perfectly innocent reason that Blair was at school and Sterling wasn’t. Perhaps Sterling had come down with some sort of fever. April was certain that Blair at least knew what she had done to Sterling at the lock-in, which was horrible enough. The Wesley twins shared everything, after all. It was the simplest possible explanation for all of the chilling looks. 

When the bell rang, April tried to gather up her belongings and leave as fast as possible. She had a premonition that Blair was going to try to talk to her. April had no patience for that. She would be safe in her second class of the day because Blair wasn’t in Physics. 

Unfortunately, April made it about three steps outside the classroom before Blair accosted her.

“You. In here. Now,” Blair growled, grabbing April’s arm and pulling her toward the nearest supply closet. 

“Unhand me, Wesley!” April cried out to no avail, as the rest of the school was used to her dramatics. “You’re going to make me late to Physics, and I’ve never been late to anything in my life.”

Being 5’2” had its disadvantages. Blair easily wrestled April into the room and slammed the door behind them. The taller brunette stood with her back against the door to prevent April from escaping. April crossed her arms and scowled, determined not to let the terror show on her face. Her heart hammered. This was undoubtedly about Sterling.

“You hurt Sterl!” yelled Blair as she gave the smaller girl a warning shove. “It’s your fault she isn’t at school today.”

And there it was, like a punch in the gut.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” April shot back.

“Don’t you dare play stupid with me, Stevens! I will throw your ass in the dumpster!”

“Rude.”

“What’s rude is breaking my sister’s heart and flirting with her ex-boyfriend right in front of her face. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

April said nothing. 

“You made her get kidnapped that night.”

There was no way she heard that correctly. Did Blair say Sterling had been kidnapped? Absolutely ludicrous! She was clearly just making things up in an attempt to rattle her. Shame on Blair for even joking about something so grave. What kind of sick game was this supposed to be?

“Come again?” asked the smaller girl.

“Our deranged aunt kidnapped her as she was leaving the lock-in because of your bullshit! She nearly took her to Mexico, and we found out... ” Blair stopped mid-sentence and cleared her throat, obviously not wanting to say whatever was going to come next. “We found out a horrible family secret that’s really affecting her. Not that it’s any of your business.”

April’s bottom lip twitched, but she continued to stay strong. Showing even an ounce of vulnerability in front of Blair was unthinkable. Besides, this sounded too farfetched to be true.

“I don’t believe you,” April huffed.

“Well, have you tried contacting her at all?”

“Yes,” April sighed, dropping her gaze. “But my message didn’t deliver. Obviously, she blocked my number, so I went ahead and re-blocked her on all social media.”

“No, she didn’t. Our aunt threw her phone out of a moving car. She doesn’t have a new one yet.”

April’s face went paler than usual as it dawned on her that Blair was, in fact, telling the truth. The room began to spin a little bit as a whirlwind of emotions overtook her. A lump made of fear and regret rose up into her throat. Too ashamed to look up at Blair, she covered her mouth with her hands. This actually was all her fault. Sterling would have never left the school that night if April had just let her sleep next to her at the lock-in and held her damn hand under the blankets after lights out, when no would have even noticed.

She had been the root cause of physical harm to Sterling after all.

“Is she alright?”

“She’s back home, but no, she’s not fucking alright!”

“I don’t know what to say,” April sighed after a long pause.

“Don’t say anything.”

Blair moved to open the door and free April from this uncomfortable hellscape, but she paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned back to deliver one last blow. “She cried over you until two this morning. I’ll never understand why, but she adores you.”

“I want to see her,” April pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Too bad. I don’t think she’ll be ready to come back this week.”

“Wait!” April grabbed Blair’s arm. “I know you hate me and would love nothing more than to watch me perish, but don’t tell anyone that I’m gay. Please.”

April’s voice broke on the word “gay.” She couldn’t believe she had actually said that to a real enemy, but it wasn’t as if it was new information. 

The other girl slapped April’s hand away. “You’re damn right I hate you, but I can’t believe you really think I’d out an LGBTQIA+ person! Ugh!”

Blair stormed off, leaving April alone to contemplate her words. How desperately she wanted this entire exchange to have been nothing more than an elaborate prank designed to make her suffer for how she treated Sterling! Her mind hung on the image of the sweet, innocent girl trembling in a car with some lunatic on the way to another country. She did that. She made that happen. 

April felt lower than dirt.

She smoothed out her shirt where Blair’s brutish grasp had wrinkled it and hurried off to class, slightly embarrassed to be late for the first time ever. Not that it mattered much. Concentrating on thermodynamics was simply not possible at the moment, and she was always a week ahead of the syllabus in every class anyway. 

Class was already underway when she made her appearance. April apologized to the teacher, offering up a flimsy excuse about losing track of time while praying for all the world’s homeless children with bad hair. She then arranged her textbook and notes on her desk to trick him into thinking she was paying attention. Once she was sure no one was watching, she grabbed her phone and fired off a quick text to Blair.

**To: Sterl’s Edgy Sister (10:15 a.m.)**

_Tell her I’m sorry._

To April’s surprise, a response showed up on her screen instantaneously. 

**From: Sterl’s Edgy Sister (10:15 a.m.)**

_no 🖕🖕_

Why did Blair always have to be so obnoxious? April couldn’t stand it! She would have to devise some other way to get in touch with Sterling. Waiting for her to return to school simply would not cut it. Not after what Blair had revealed. The guilt would kill her. 

Every cell in her body ached to hold Sterling after hearing what she had been through, but April knew she needed to bottle those feelings. Besides, such affection would likely be unwelcome anyway. Well, Blair did say “adores” in the present tense, but April figured the other girl was going to be too angry with her for any of that. It was for the best. She couldn’t be with Sterling. Daddy would find out. She had to push her feelings deep down again just to survive. April decided that she couldn’t even breathe on another girl again until she was safely at college, far away from his threatening presence. It was kind of like a vow of celibacy, except she still hadn’t actually had the chance to ravage anyone yet.

But she still needed Sterling to know how sorry she was. The only issue was how to go about getting in touch with her. It would be suspicious to show up at the Wesleys’ house without a reason since they hadn’t been friends in years. As Mr. Mitchell passed out the homework packets right before the end of class, a brilliant plan unfolded in her mind.

She approached the teacher’s desk after the bell rang. “Mr. Mitchell, may I please have Sterling’s homework? I’m in all of her classes, so I thought I’d take her homework to her.”

“Of course, April.” The teacher handed her an extra homework packet. “That’s very kind of you.”

April smiled warmly and accepted the papers. “Just spreading Christ’s love!”

By the end of the school day, April had collected a thick stack of papers for Sterling. The honors classes at Willingham were no joke when it came to homework. April figured she had about three hours until Daddy came home, giving her plenty of time to also bake a batch of her Nana’s famous chocolate chip cookies as a peace offering. She harbored no delusion that cookies would mend a broken heart, but it was a nice gesture, and baking did always help her de-stress. Her mother wouldn’t notice the mess in the kitchen because all she ever did since the trial was drown her sorrows in merlot. 

April checked the house when she arrived home, and surely enough, Mom was drinking in the garden again. She wouldn’t come inside until Daddy got off of work, and all she would do then was place a dinner delivery order. Having the house basically to herself took some of the weight off of April’s shoulders. Her parents' presence made it so difficult to relax.

Baking always made April think of Nana. Nana passed away from a heart attack when April was in ninth grade, and she had never missed anyone more. Not only did her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe always win the annual church bake-off, but Nana was different from the rest of the family. Less judgmental, and she had never particularly liked her son-in-law. Nana also never had a single negative thing to say about any of April’s “unnaturally close” (in Daddy’s words) friendships. “Give it a rest, John. It’s okay for a girl to have a best friend,” she’d say at Sunday dinner whenever Daddy remarked that April had been spending too much time with a girl. The first time she remembered Nana saying that was in reference to Adele Meisner, way back in second grade. April had always been too afraid to tell Nana her secret, but in retrospect, she got the sense that Nana probably wouldn’t have hated her. Maybe she could have even gone to her for advice about this new predicament.

The key to making the cookies just like Nana was to brown the butter before adding it in. As the butter sizzled in the pan, April’s thoughts drifted back to Sterling. All that had occupied her mind all day was how terrified Sterling must have been when she was trapped in that car. April was far too proud to grovel for anyone’s forgiveness, but she did need to at least let the other girl know how much her role in this was tearing her up inside. She owed that to Sterling for being the only Adele brave enough to kiss her.

Kiss her. Maybe they would kiss and make up. April physically shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. No kisses! Complete abstinence until graduation! She was going over to the Wesleys’ house as nothing more than a concerned and remorseful acquaintance. And in a few weeks, once Sterling had some time to heal, they’d be back to business as usual on the public front. 

So why, then, did she immediately go upstairs to her room after putting the cookies in the oven and start agonizing over the perfect outfit to wear to see Sterling? She had no answer, and that filled her with anger. April considered putting on the ugliest thing in her closet to show how little she cared about what Sterling thought of her appearance. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Defeated, she picked out a flowy tank top and shorts that fit just right. The unmitigated absurdity of baking apology cookies for a girl she wasn’t going to date and picking out a cute outfit to deliver them in was not lost on April.

Forty-five minutes later, April found herself parked in the Wesleys’ driveway. Now that she was just steps away, she found herself anxious all over again. What if Sterling didn’t want to see her? What if she fucked up the apology? It wasn’t like she had much experience in the Apology Department. Every time she clashed with Ezekiel or Hannah B., she always made them do all the apologizing, even if it was her fault. This was new territory, and the stakes were lofty. She took a deep breath, exited the car, and prayed silently that anyone except Blair would answer the door.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April sees Sterling for the first time since the night of the lock-in.

An exhausted-looking Debbie Wesley opened the door. April was taken aback at the poorly hidden dark bags underneath the older woman’s eyes, but she said nothing. Whatever horrible family secret Blair had referred to must have been affecting them all. 

“April Stevens?” Mrs. Wesley shot her a puzzled look. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Mrs. Wesley. I’m here to drop off Sterling’s homework. I heard she wasn’t feeling well, and I’m in all of her classes, so I thought I’d bring it to her.” 

“Well, that’s nice. Thank you, sweetie.”

“I also baked too many of my Nana’s famous chocolate chip cookies, so I brought the leftovers. I don’t need to be tempted by all of that sugar.” April smiled her signature half-smile, but Mrs. Wesley did not smile back. 

Instead, the older woman reached out to grab the cookies and homework from April. “Here, I’ll take those inside.”

“Actually, Mrs. Wesley, I was hoping I could come in and see Sterling.”

Mrs. Wesley’s face contorted into an unreadable expression. April couldn’t fault her apparent hesitation. After all, it had been years since the world had known April and Sterling as friends. It must certainly seem bizarre for her to show up during a crisis, asking to see her “sworn enemy.” She wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Wesley thought she was planning something cruel. 

“She missed a tough Physics lesson today. Someone should explain the homework to her, and who better to help than the girl on track for valedictorian?” April continued, making up some believable bullshit on the spot to bolster her case. 

“Well, alright.” Mrs. Wesley stepped back and gestured for April to come in. “But it’s best if you don’t stay too long. She says she didn’t sleep last night.”

April glanced into the house behind Mrs. Wesley. “Is Blair home?”

“No, she’s at lacrosse practice. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” 

April followed Mrs. Wesley into the house and set the container of cookies down on the kitchen counter. She hoped that Mrs. Wesley wouldn’t question why her “leftover” cookies were still warm. Since the older woman was still watching, April made a show of flipping through the homework papers and putting the Physics one on top. 

“She’s upstairs, straight down the hall,” Mrs. Wesley explained.

“Thank you. I promise I won’t be long.”

The journey upstairs seemed to take an eternity. April wasn’t sure what exactly she would say to Sterling. How would one even begin the kind of conversation they needed to have? She was semi-expecting to be asked to leave on sight anyway. Sterling’s bedroom door was slightly ajar, allowing April to catch a glimpse of the girl whose heart she had broken. Sterling was lying on her back in bed underneath a pile of blankets. She didn’t appear to be asleep. Lost in thought, maybe. April couldn’t help but imagine, for a split second, what it might be like to crawl under the blankets and curl up with her. She put the torturous thoughts out of her mind and gently knocked on the door. When no response came, she waited a few seconds before nudging it the rest of the way open.

“Hey, Sterl,” she said cautiously. “I came by to drop off your homework.”

“April?” Sterling quickly sat up in bed. A deep blush spread across her cheeks as April stepped all the way into the room and closed the door. She frantically attempted to smooth her hair, which was a wild mess from spending the day in bed. “Oh, gosh. Hi.”

April and Sterling locked eyes. Seeing Sterling after all that had happened felt surreal. Those big, blue puppy dog eyes were normally April’s favorite feature of Sterling’s, but in that moment, the sight of them filled her with dread. They looked bloodshot and wet, as if Sterling had just been crying. And she was undoubtedly part of the reason. April’s insides twisted with guilt and shame. She prayed for the strength to keep herself together.

“I’m really mad at you, you know,” Sterling said, crossing her arms. “But you also look really pretty right now, so it’s throwing me off.”

April’s heart fluttered at the second sentence, but now was not the time to show Sterling that her charms still worked. “I deserve it. I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the lock-in.”

“You broke my heart.” Sterling dropped her gaze and pulled her knees to her chest.

“I know,” April sighed as she placed the books on Sterling’s desk. “I broke my own too.”

“I still can’t believe you flirted with Luke,” scoffed Sterling. “What were you trying to do? It was bad enough what you did to me, but you don’t even like boys!”

“I was afraid, okay? My gay-hating, woman-beating father had just come home from prison and told me he wanted to reconnect, hours before I was supposed to hold your hand in public! You’re supposed to be smart, Sterling. Can’t you understand why the thought of what he might do to us would scare me?” April snapped. “And Luke made a _Star Wars_ joke when I walked in, so I went with it. It was all just… circumstance.”

April immediately regretted her tone. Sterling was in no state to be snapped at, and those teary eyes were killing her. She was making the same face she had made at the lock-in when she started playing “Slow Burn” to get April’s attention, which made April feel as if she had just kicked a golden retriever puppy. Once again, she found herself fighting the urge to get on the bed and hold her. If her resolve was crumbling just because of a look on Sterling’s face, there was no way she would be able to continue playing the role of the stereotypical high school mean girl in public. Not toward Sterling, anyway. She could never be the cause of that look again.

Sterling finally spoke. “No, I get it. Blair helped me understand what can happen when people come out in a bad situation. I’m sorry I pushed you, but what you did to me still really hurt.” 

“I know, and I regret it so much,” April sighed and looked down at her feet. “I wanted word to get back to Daddy that I had shown interest in a boy for once in my life because I wanted to protect you. Nothing happened after you left, by the way. I couldn’t keep the act up. Everything that felt so right and natural with you felt so wrong and forced with him.”

“April—”

“I’m not finished. I came in here ready to apologize but demand that we go back to business as usual at school. Now, I don’t think I can. Being mean to you is unbearable after what happened between us. I’m not brave enough to be out, and I don’t feel safe sneaking around, but I don’t want to go back to being sworn enemies. Casual acquaintances, maybe?”

Sterling patted the space next to her on the bed. “Come here.” 

“On the bed? I don’t know.”

“Please? I need a friend today.”

April couldn’t deny her that. She took a seat next to Sterling on the bed but made sure to leave a few inches of space between them.

“Yes, I heard you might.”

It was undeniably pleasant to feel the other girl’s warmth, even while trying to maintain a personal bubble for the sake of protecting her heart. April figured she could handle being friends with Sterling. It might even be nice to have a friend who knew a part of her the rest of the world couldn’t. No one else on Earth knew except for Blair, although if April had it her way, the other Wesley wouldn’t know either. Of course, they would have to ease into a public friendship. Not only would a sudden shift seem odd to the rest of Willingham, but her father had asked about Sterling far too recently for her comfort. If he had heard anything that could even remotely suggest what was going on, they needed to give him some time to forget. Fortunately, they were smart girls who could easily come up with a plausible explanation for their blossoming friendship. Perhaps something to do with bonding over their A+ Solomon’s Temple project?

The two girls sat in silence for a moment. April nearly jumped through the ceiling when Sterling’s hand brushed up against hers. Skin-to-skin contact with her still sent shockwaves through her body.

April decided to try and lighten the mood. “Your sister threatened to throw me in the dumpster at school today.”

Sterling giggled, but then sadness overtook her face once again. “Blair isn’t my sister,” she mumbled.

“What was that, Sterl?”

“I said Blair isn’t my sister!”

Tears began to roll down Sterling’s cheeks. April’s mind immediately flashed back to what Blair had said about a “horrible family secret.” If this was true, then that was the understatement of the year. So much of both Wesleys’ identities seemed to be built around the fact that they were twins. 

“What are you talking about? You two are practically conjoin—”

“Debbie isn’t my mom! I got kidnapped by my crazy aunt after the lock-in, and it turns out _she’s_ my mom,” Sterling sobbed. “Blair is my cousin. I-I don’t have a sister. I don’t even know when my real birthday is! My whole life has been a lie.”

“Of course you have a sister.” April knew she would have to break the touch barrier after that announcement. She cautiously took Sterling’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve loved Blair as your sister for sixteen years now, and I don’t see why this would be a reason to stop. If it helps, she specifically referred to you as her sister today when she threatened me.”

That brought a small smile to Sterling’s face. “Yeah, that helps.”

“She shoved me into a literal closet at school today to scream at me for hurting you. I might find Blair edgy and obnoxious, but she loves you so much. Don’t let this new information change anything.”

Sterling reached over to her nightstand and pulled out some tissues, taking a moment to dry her eyes. April let go of her free hand and considered, for a moment, what it might be like to have a sibling. As a lonely only child, she had always been jealous of the Wesleys’ closeness. She did feel relieved for Sterling that Blair’s only objection to their relationship had been the fact that Sterling was with _her,_ not just with a girl in general. Having even just one supportive family member would help so much.

“So, what did Blair say to you at school today? Besides the fact that she wants to throw you in the dumpster.”

“She told me a bit about what happened to you after you left, but certainly nothing about your family secret. I’m sorry about that too, by the way. I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault, and she very much agreed.”

“No, April. Oh my gosh, no!” 

This time, it was Sterling’s turn to gently take April’s hand. 

“Dana was looking for me,” she continued. “I think she would have found her way to me eventually, no matter what. I’m not mad at you for that. Just the lock-in stuff.”

The tightness in April’s chest dissipated at long last. Of course, she was still wracked with guilt about her behavior at the lock-in, but at least Sterling didn’t blame her for the kidnapping. Damn Blair for implying that she did!

Her eyes fell on their hands. Sterling was still holding hers, prolonging the contact much more than she had. April wondered what, if anything, she should make of that. She glanced up at Sterling’s lips. So close. It would be all too easy to break the personal space bubble and kiss her senseless.

That wasn’t a very friendly thought.

She quickly removed her hand from Sterling’s and stood up. 

“Um, I have to go,” April said. Her voice came out sounding more nervous than she had hoped. “My father is going to be home soon. I’m glad you’re alright. I left cookies downstairs. Bye, Sterl!”

“Bye, April. I’m not going to school this week, but I’ll text you as soon as I get my new phone.”

“Sounds great.”

April backed out of the room before the notoriously affectionate Sterling had time to give her a hug. The hand contact alone had done enough to mess with her heart. There was no way she could handle the level of closeness a hug would involve without doing something regrettable. It was too soon. She could still recall, in detail, the sublime feeling of Sterling’s body pressed up against hers during a heated make-out session in the back seat of the other girl’s car. That memory was far too fresh and vivid for her to accept any platonic hugs.

She slipped out the door without saying goodbye to Mrs. Wesley, who didn’t acknowledge her presence anyway. What would she think if she knew about them? On one hand, Mrs. Wesley had forced Sterling to sleep in the yard just for drinking at a party. On the other, when Sterling had wanted to come out, she never seemed concerned about her family’s reaction. Of course, she hoped the Wesleys would be accepting if Sterling ever brought home a girlfriend. And of course, the thought of Sterling with a different girlfriend felt like a knife in the heart. 

April sat in her car with the key in the ignition, dreading the trip home. She allowed herself to have just one more moment to think about Sterling before she needed to bottle that and put on her perfect daughter facade for dinner with her family. If April was being honest with herself, she was eager to receive a text from Sterling. She was already formulating a detailed plan for easing into a friendship without raising any outside suspicion, and she couldn’t wait to share it. 

But for the time being, she had to go home and listen to her hateful parents argue about stupid fucking legal fees over Chinese takeout.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April thinks about how she and Sterling can be friends in public again.

**From: +1 (678) 555-0123 (7:42 p.m.)**

_Hey it’s Sterling!!_

_Got my new phone finally_

_Also those cookies were 🔥_

April’s eyes lit up at the notifications. Two days had passed since she visited the Wesleys’ house, and she had been waiting for Sterling to text ever since. Her World History notes lay forgotten on the desk as she stared at the messages, trying to figure out how to respond. Of course, she couldn’t respond _too_ quickly. She had to play it cool, but this was far more exciting than reading paragraphs about various ancient Japanese building materials. While waiting, she saved Sterling’s new contact information as simply “SW” because the last thing she needed was her father seeing Sterling’s name pop up on her phone.

She had come up with the perfect plan for easing into a public friendship with Sterling. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, they would start sitting gradually closer during Fellowship until they were sitting together. This would get people used to the sight of them being near each other without fighting. They would also pair up for half of all partner projects during this time period, citing academic ability and their Solomon’s Temple project success story if questioned. Since April was always ahead of the syllabus, she knew there was another particularly involved one coming up in Bible class. Upon receiving their inevitable A+ on the project, April would publicly declare Sterling “not that bad,” and then they would be free to associate. Ellen would be delighted and probably give them bonus points. She had always been bizarrely obsessed with their relationship.

She had also thought extensively about every possible thing that could go wrong and about what to do in each scenario. Maybe a teacher was out sick and couldn’t assign the projects on schedule, forcing them to prolong the plan. Maybe someone had a picture of them kissing at the arcade, forcing them to flee the state, change their names, and start new lives. No matter what, April was sure the situation would be covered in her detailed outline. 

A key part of the plan was that they were not to be seen outside of school together in public until the plan was complete. April hoped that rule would accomplish two things. One: give Daddy time to forget whatever he had heard to make him ask about the Wesleys. And two: allow herself the chance to shove all her fluttery, sweaty feelings for Sterling down into the abyss.

**To: SW (7:50 p.m.)**

_I’m glad you liked them. Nana’s recipe._

She considered also writing “I missed you,” but ended up deciding against it. That was too much. 

_I came up with a plan to publicly resume our friendship._

April waited a few seconds for the three dots indicating that Sterling was typing to appear, but they did not, so she turned her attention back to the World History textbook. Unfortunately, concentration was now impossible. She was desperate to show Sterling her plan. It was all that had occupied her mind for the past two days. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her phone chiming. 

**From: SW (7:52 p.m.)**

_A whole plan huh?_

April didn’t want to smile at the fact that Sterling was texting her, but she couldn’t help it. 

**To: SW (7:53 p.m.)**

_Yes, I’ll send you the notes._

**From: SW (7:54 p.m.)**

_Can’t wait 😊_

She sent Sterling the details and decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water. April hoped she wouldn’t run into either of her parents. It was getting more and more difficult to deal with them. Her father hadn’t stopped cracking jokes about all the “fags” in prison since he got home. Her mother was drinking more often, which made her even more argumentative than usual. She stopped just short of her father’s home office and cautiously peeked around the corner. The sight of the closed door filled her with a sense of relief. He was probably busy. 

On her way back to her room, April overheard her father talking on the phone from behind the door. Daddy had always made it clear that women were not allowed in his office except to clean it, so she was never entirely sure what he got up to in there. The walls were not as soundproof as he seemed to think, however, so she could hear pieces of his conversation. 

“Get those two little whores and make ‘em suffer...”

April’s heart dropped down into the pit of her stomach. Why was he planning to beat up more sex workers? Disgusting. His first stunt had already done enough to strain their family dynamic. She hurried back to her room, afraid of what might happen if he knew she was eavesdropping. April never knew what to expect anymore. Her relationship with both parents had always been somewhat tense, with April living in constant fear of not measuring up to the standards of Team Stevens. But the tension in the air had never been as thick as it had since her father’s return. She could hardly look at him without imagining him beating that woman. She could hardly look at him without imagining him beating _her_ for what she had done with Sterling Wesley.

A few tears slipped out as April closed her bedroom door behind herself. The perfect daughter facade was becoming too much to maintain. Not only had the past few weeks permanently tarnished her image of Daddy, but April had also come to realize that she couldn’t hide forever. Now was certainly not the right time to come out, but the world would someday see the part of herself she was keeping hidden. Sterling’s strawberry-flavored lip gloss and electrifying touch had forced her to confront that fact because this was no longer just a fantasy. Girls really could return her feelings, she had loved being with one during that magical couple of weeks, and there was no turning back. But the implications were undeniably terrifying. What would her parents say in ten years when she didn’t have a husband? What would she do in ten years if there was a woman she wanted to marry? It was too much to think about. 

She stood in front of the large mirror on her wall and whispered something she had been telling herself for years, something that never failed to bring her comfort: “I do not believe God will smite me for being a lesbian. He made me, along with narwhals and those tiny blue poison frogs, so clearly He has a master plan.”

And she truly felt it in her heart. She just wished her parents could feel it too. 

April’s phone chimed again, snapping her out of her thoughts. 

**From: SW (8:15 p.m.)**

_Oh my gosh wow haha you’ve really thought about this a lot!!_

_See you soon 🍦_

_Shoot I didn’t mean to put that yogurt emoji_

***

It seemed to April as if the following Monday would never come, but once it did, she felt oddly unprepared. Sure, she had a detailed plan to follow, but Sterling could be so unpredictable and impulsive. She arrived early to Spanish class, took her front row seat, and waited for the rest of the students to filter in. After an agonizing two minutes, the Wesley sisters entered the room together. As they made their way to their seats, Blair scowled at her, as she had done every day for the past week. April had decided after their confrontation that it was best to ignore her at all costs. She averted her eyes and pretended not to see the Wesleys, but she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a faint smile from Sterling.

The bell rang, and Señora O'Reilly began speaking to them in Spanish about the upcoming vocabulary test. April couldn’t shake the sudden hyper-awareness of Sterling’s presence right behind her. Was this what every class was going to be like now? When she was sure Señora O'Reilly wasn’t looking, April turned back to sneak a quick glance at Sterling.

April didn’t love admitting it to herself, but she had missed seeing the other girl in class. For someone who was going through so much, Sterling looked simply amazing. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, exposing the soft skin of her neck. That had been one of April’s favorite spots to kiss, and she couldn’t believe she was thinking about their adventures in the backseat during Spanish class. She figured she should look literally anywhere else. Her gaze settled on Sterling’s lips, but that was no better because April could tell she was wearing her favorite strawberry lip gloss just by its particular sheen. She made a point to look at the clock on the back wall of the classroom so she could truthfully say she was checking the time if anyone asked. How could it only be 8:12 a.m.?

 _“¡Abril!”_ Señora O'Reilly called, clapping her hands to get April’s attention. _“Presta atención.”_

Blair stifled a laugh. Somehow, April just knew her ears were turning red. She was glad she decided to wear her hair down that morning. 

After that disaster of a Spanish class ended, April encountered Hannah B. and Ezekiel in the hall. With so much going on in her head, she had been neglecting her friendships a little bit. She hadn’t even liked any posts on Hannah B.’s dog’s Instagram account in three whole days. April flashed a half smile and asked if either of them had heard any particularly juicy rumors circulating around Willingham. 

“Girl, all anyone can talk about this morning is Sterling Wesley and where she was last week.” Ezekiel subtly motioned down the hall, where Sterling stood talking to Luke. 

April’s blood turned to ice at the sight of Sterling and Luke together. The rest of the room faded away into a blur as she zeroed in Sterling’s face. Was she _laughing?_ With Luke?

“I heard she got parasites from drinking lake water,” said Hannah B.

“I heard she got arrested for breaking a little-known state law about keeping a donkey in a bathtub,” said Ezekiel.

Luke gave Sterling a quick one-armed hug before they parted ways. April nearly fainted. 

“Um, I’m gonna be late,” she mumbled. “I’ll see you both at lunch.”

Sterling and Luke were going to get back together. April just knew it. Obviously, Sterling wanted someone she could be with in plain sight. Someone she could kiss in public and bring around her family. As long as she was forced to live under John Stevens’ roof, April couldn’t be that for her. She couldn’t hold her hand in public, or bring her to Sunday dinner, or do any of those cute couple TikTok challenges.

To make matters worse, Luke seemed to think they were friends now. He had sent April a Baby Yoda meme and asked for Spanish help over the past week. Luke was just a pure-hearted, goofy boy who didn’t deserve any malice, but April knew she wouldn’t be able to contain her inner bitch if she ever saw his lips on Sterling’s again. The strawberry lip gloss must have been for Luke, and that thought was simply nauseating. What if he tried to talk to her about Sterling again, like he had when they were making lock-in signs? She was running out of _Star Wars_ metaphors.

This was the one scenario she had failed to account for in her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the one Spanish sentence is wrong. I used Google Translate because I didn't want to ask my Spanish-speaking coworker and risk having to tell him that I needed it for fanfiction.
> 
> Much more action to come next chapter! I just kind of enjoy thinking about what April must be thinking about, though.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April tries to find out more about the Luke situation and collaborates with Sterling on the latest Bible class project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a million for all your comments on the previous chapters! I love writing April because she is so special to me as someone who was a gay teen at Christian school in the south ten years ago. I feel like I can connect with her on a molecular level. It's very easy to walk a mile in her shoes when I've had the same ones... (Literally, I had a pair of those white Sperry sneakers from the first episode once.)
> 
> Very excited about today's update. I promised more action, now didn't I?

April hadn’t texted with Sterling all week, but they had started sitting ever-so-slightly closer in Fellowship, and they were paired up for the Bible class project. As the Fellowship Leader, she got a center spot on one of the couches, flanked on either side by Ezekiel and Hannah B. Sterling, Blair, and Luke sat on the floor a few feet away. Staying focused on reading from her large binder full of devotionals was tough when April could hardly tear her eyes away from those three. She was still convinced that Sterling and Luke were back together, although she hadn’t seen any concrete evidence. The thought of asking Sterling had crossed her mind a couple of times, but she decided against it. She didn’t want to give off the impression that she cared who Sterling dated. Her right to an opinion on that had died the night of the lock-in. 

Did Luke just move an inch closer to Sterling?

“Let us pray!” she announced suddenly, taking her friends’ hands in her own. “Dear Heavenly Father…”

As April led the group in prayer, she opened her eyes for a split second to look at the group on the floor who had been breaking her focus for the past half-hour. Opening her eyes during prayer felt a little blasphemous. She would have to apologize to Jesus later, but surely He would understand that she needed to check whether or not Sterling and Luke were holding hands. Much to her delight, both of Sterling’s hands were in Blair’s!

Interesting. She finally had one single point to put in the “they’re not back together” column. Of course, it could mean anything, but April was desperate to cling to any shred of evidence that Sterling hadn’t immediately gone back to the sweet but amorphous goof. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t shed a few tears over the thought of Sterling being someone else’s girl again so soon. To be held by Sterling once again was still her heart’s greatest desire. As much as she didn’t want to think about it, every fiber of her being ached for the blonde’s affection.

“...Amen.”

The group finished their prayer right as the bell rang. April gathered up her bag and turned to leave the room when a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She would know that gentle, familiar, _sorely missed_ touch without even having to look. 

April turned around to face Sterling, just as she had expected. Luke had gone ahead and left the room, but a protective Blair stood at her side.

“Hey, April, are you still coming over today to work on our project for Bible class?” asked Sterling. 

“I suppose,” replied April, adding an exasperated sigh for effect because Hannah B. was still lingering nearby. 

It felt horrible, but for appearance’s sake, she still had to seem unenthused about spending any time with Sterling. A wave of fear washed over her tiny body when Blair raised an eyebrow. Trash day was tomorrow, so the school’s dumpster was at its fullest and rankest. That threat had still not left April’s mind.

“Great!” Sterling said with a smile, seemingly unbothered by April’s false annoyance. “Can you bring the cardboard?”

April nodded. “Yeah, okay, fine.” 

“I’ll see you this afternoon!” 

The smaller girl didn’t respond because she was too busy trying to stop longing to kiss Sterling goodbye. Instead, she simply rushed out of the room to catch up with Hannah B. 

All she could think about was 3 p.m.

***

That afternoon, April found herself parked in the Wesleys’ driveway for the second time in as many weeks. She hadn’t had time to go home and change into something more presentable than her school uniform because she had to go out and purchase the supplies for their project. The students were supposed to pair up and design a board game that would get people excited to learn about the Bible. Why Ellen thought this was a good use of their time, she would never know. That woman loved to dream up the most ridiculous projects. 

An imposing pile of art supplies and a few sheets of cardboard filled the passenger’s seat of April’s car. She wasn’t sure what all they would need or what Sterling would already have, but as always, she wanted to come prepared. Her parents thought she was tutoring Horny Lorna in Trigonometry. If Mom wasn’t already too drunk to function, she was undoubtedly hoping some of Lorna’s obsessive interest in the young Christian men of Willingham would rub off on her.

But reality was quite the opposite. Instead, April was hastily touching up her makeup in the car mirror to ensure she looked her best for another girl. A girl she totally didn’t want to date, but still needed to look good for anyway. Once she was satisfied, April reached for her phone to text Sterling, but stopped. She decided she should put her hair up in a tight ponytail. Sterling always seemed to like that.

**To: SW (3:38 p.m.)**

_I’m here. Can you please help me bring some of this stuff inside?_

Within moments, Sterling came running out of the house with a big, dumb grin plastered across her face. She had changed out of her school clothes into jeans and a light, low-cut sweater that April had to admit suited her nicely. Sterling opened the passenger door and poked her head in.

“Hey, Sterl,” said April. Then, she cautiously added, “You look nice.”

Sterling’s smile somehow grew even bigger. “Thanks! You too. Well, you always do, but, um, yeah. You too. Is this all the stuff?”

“Yes, I wasn’t sure what all we would need, but I didn’t want to chance leaving any bases uncovered.”

The girls carried the project supplies inside and up to Sterling’s room. April set up a work area on the floor while Sterling pulled the project instructions out of her notebook. 

“So, according to the rubric, Ellen is grading us on aesthetics, creativity, educational value, and fun factor,” said Sterling. 

“Fun factor?” April scrunched up her face. “Isn’t that subjective?”

“Well, yeah. I guess we just gotta think like Ellen.”

April had been imagining some elaborate Bible/ _Star Wars_ crossover strategy game, but she was probably the only person on Earth who would find that fun. Ellen didn’t seem like the type to appreciate the sheer genius and artistry that would have to go into something like that. 

“Oh!” Sterling’s eyes lit up. “There’s a game Blair and I made up. It’s called ‘Bible or Instagram?’ and it’s exactly what it sounds like. You have to guess whether a quote is from the Bible or from Instagram.”

That seemed like something Ellen would be into.

“I suppose we could work with that.”

It was a good start. April could already imagine some ways to incorporate the board game aspect. Players couldn’t progress to the end of the board unless they answered a certain number of questions correctly. Maybe wrong answers would send them back a space. She ran through some of these ideas with Sterling, who seemed receptive.

April handed Sterling a package of multicolored modeling clay. “Here, make game pieces. I’m going to draw out some ideas for the board.”

“What do you think Ellen’s gonna do with all these board games?” Sterling wondered aloud as she molded four small crosses out of clay. 

“Spend a wild Friday night playing them all with her cats and her mailperson, probably.”

Both girls couldn’t help but laugh at that mental image. Ellen’s personal life was truly an enigma. 

Sterling’s phone chimed. She glanced over at it and hummed. “Oh, it’s just Luke.”

 _Just_ Luke?

April raised an eyebrow. Now would be a good time to approach the subject cautiously. “You aren’t… You aren’t back together with him?”

Sterling looked almost offended. “Gosh, no! He’s just nice to have around as a friend right now.”

April tried her hardest to hide her joy. God was looking out for her! 

“He is nice,” she agreed. “Sometimes he sends me _Star Wars_ memes because I told him his name makes me want to use the force.”

“You’re a _Star Wars_ fan?”

April blushed. She got a little embarrassed sometimes talking about her geekier interests, especially with pretty girls. “Um, yeah. I’ve seen every movie at least twice.”

“I’ve never seen any of them.”

“What?” April gasped. “We’ll have to change that.”

There was something highly appealing about the idea of sharing _Star Wars_ with Sterling, beyond the obvious factors of spending more time with her and having an excuse to watch it all again. In a way, it was kind of like sticking it to her father. Taking their thing and sharing it with the first girl she had ever kissed seemed like a nice, subtle “fuck you” to him for his recent transgressions.

Once April had sketched out a map of the board that they both liked, they began compiling a list of good quotes. April searched through the Bible while Sterling scrolled through Instagram. It took some time, but they were eventually able to come up with 30.

“Okay, you can start coloring the board,” April declared, satisfied with their progress. “I’ll make the cards.”

She had always liked those aesthetic Instagram quotes, but digital art had never been her strong suit. Traditional art, on the other hand, came naturally to April. She carefully wrote out “Be strong and take heart” in a refined, flowing script. 

April looked up from her task only to find that Sterling wasn’t doing what she had asked. She gritted her teeth at the sight of the other girl copying a Bible quote onto one of the cards. Sterling had been more docile during the Solomon’s Temple project, probably because that one was actually difficult and involved dangerous tools.

“No, all the cards need to match, and my handwriting is so much more legible,” April huffed. “Color the board like I asked.”

“Chill, April!”

Was Sterling trying to piss her off? Because if so, it was working.

April reached over to take the card, but Sterling jerked her hand away, causing April to grab her wrist instead. A rush of feelings surged through April’s body. Her mind was immediately transported back to that day at the forensics tournament, when she had grabbed Sterling’s arm to yell at her in the hall and ended up feeling a certain kind of heat she did not expect from that interaction. 

It was happening again.

Her eyes met Sterling’s. She couldn’t quite place the look on Sterling’s face, but she did notice the other girl breathing heavily. Before she could react, Sterling’s lips were on hers. 

All forms of thought left April’s brain. In that moment, she was focused solely on kissing Sterling back with a raw, all-consuming hunger she had been repressing for weeks. Eager to get reacquainted with old territory, she took a moment to savor the taste of that sweet strawberry lip gloss and slipped her tongue into Sterling’s mouth.

“Oh my gosh,” Sterling panted when they pulled away. “I—”

“Shut up, Sterling,” April growled, then repositioned herself so that she was straddling the other girl’s lap.

The card they had been fighting over lay forgotten on the floor as Sterling’s hands found a new occupation in unbuttoning April’s shirt. April could hardly think between kisses, but she was so glad that she had decided to wear a decent bra that morning. Sterling’s hands grazed the lacy edges of the pale pink fabric. April glanced down at Sterling’s hands on her bra and suddenly felt the slightest twinge of shyness. If it ended up coming off, that would be new for them. But that wasn’t going to stop her.

Not to be outdone, April slipped her hands underneath Sterling’s sweater. She still remembered exactly how Sterling liked to be touched through her bra, so she wasted no time.

Sterling was being a little rougher than the last time they’d done this in the back seat of the Chevy Volt. April was absolutely for it. A soft moan escaped when Sterling bit down on her bottom lip. The room was suddenly a million degrees, and she was overcome with the desire to rip the rest of their clothes off. But that would be too much too soon. Instead, she settled for unhooking Sterling’s bra.

“Oh April, yes, but my mom is home!” Sterling gasped through stifled moans.

“Then we’ll just have to be quiet.”

April left a trail of kisses from Sterling’s collarbone up to her jawline as one hand continued working its magic beneath her sweater. With her free hand, she took one of the taller girl’s hands and guided it up the inside of her thigh, stopping just short of where she really wanted it.

Her lips grazed Sterling’s ear as she whispered, “I want you to touch me _right now_ , Sterling Wesley.”

“Oh, I-I want that too!”

“So what are you waiting for?”

Sterling’s baby blue eyes darkened with desire, and she reached to undo April’s belt. April had never been more revved up in her entire life. It was finally happening! Sure, she hadn’t pictured her first time taking place on the floor next to an unfinished Bible-themed board game, but could beggars really be choosers? All that mattered was that it was going to be with Sterling. It was true that if they did it now, they wouldn’t have anywhere left to go, but she didn’t want to wait any longer for fear that the universe might once again try to separate them.

Truthfully, she was a bit nervous due to her total lack of experience. Sterling had at least been with someone before, even though that someone was Luke. April figured that surely, she couldn’t be any worse at sex than Luke. She’d overheard that appalling “peanut butter lumberjack” oral sex tip the Willingham boys circulated a while back. Never send a man to do a woman’s job, indeed.

April was so caught up in the promise of finally getting to pin Sterling down and ravage her that she didn’t notice the door swing open.

“Hey, Sterl, I think I left my— OH MY GOD!” squealed Blair as she dropped her phone and shielded her eyes. 

April practically flung herself off of Sterling and began buttoning her shirt with her back turned to the unwelcome presence. Only one Wesley had any business seeing what was under there. 

There was no way April would be able to make eye contact with freaking Blair ever again.

A red-faced Sterling shifted frantically to hide the fact that her bra was about to fall off and managed to say, “I think we have to start knocking on each other’s doors. I think it’s time to start doing that!”

“I thought y’all were just working on a project for Bible class.”

April crossed her arms tightly over her chest and turned to speak. “We were, and it’s going to be far superior to yours, Miss 2.9 GPA.”

“I’m not even in your class! No need to get so competitive.”

“What’s going on up there, girls?” Mrs. Wesley called from downstairs.

“Nothing!” Blair called back. “I, um, closed the door on my finger.”

“Blair, I love you, but get out of my room!” Sterling hissed. 

“Noted,” Blair said as she picked up the fallen phone and turned to leave. “Oh, and you might want to button your pants, Stevens.”

April silently implored the ground to swallow her whole. Defeated, she resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn’t be getting any that afternoon and buttoned her pants. 

“Oh my gosh, April, I’m so embarrassed,” Sterling cried once they were alone again. “And so sorry about Blair.”

“It’s okay. I’ve been looking for an excuse to move to another planet.”

The two girls sat on the floor next to their project, leaving enough room for Jesus between them. April played with the cap of a green marker to keep her hands and mind busy while Sterling fixed her bra. Neither one of them said anything. April tried to count her blessings. At least Blair had walked in when she did instead of a few minutes later. 

Sterling finally broke the awkward silence and moved closer, so her shoulder lightly touched April’s. “What does this mean for us? We almost… you know.”

April turned to look at Sterling. The afternoon light filtering through the window made her look so soft. She reached over and cupped the other girl’s cheek, just as she had done that wonderful day in the arcade. How did she ever think she could resist Sterling? Of course this was dangerous, irresponsible, and stupid, but she needed Sterling’s love like she needed her next breath of air. Her family and all of Willingham could go to Hell for all she cared. She had to put up with _so much_ bullshit between being the perfect daughter, maintaining her 4.0 GPA, and suffering in the closet. She deserved something good for once in her life.

She leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss to Sterling’s lips.

“I still like you,” she admitted. “I never stopped. But I’m not ready to come out, and I know you want and deserve someone you can be with publicly.”

“It’s okay, actually. I shouldn’t have pushed you.” Sterling dropped her gaze to the floor and added, “I really want to keep doing this _,_ even if we can’t go public. And I want to have someone else besides just Blair by my side right now.”

“I really want to keep doing this too. We’re going to have to be extremely careful, though. Maybe you should start locking your door.”

“So, like, do you want to be…” Sterling’s voice trailed off as she nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She was blushing, and April could hardly stand how cute it was.

April knew what Sterling was going to say, but she still wanted to hear her say it anyway, so she feigned ignorance. “Do I want to be what?”

The blonde took a deep breath, looked April in the eye, then tried again. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

April thought her heart would burst. She had dreamt of hearing a girl say that to her for years. Unable to speak, she nodded enthusiastically and threw her arms around Sterling. She moved so that she was in Sterling’s lap once again, but this time, all she did was hug her as tightly and closely as possible. 

Sterling chuckled softly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“A hundred times yes!”

April rested her forehead against Sterling’s and simply enjoyed her girlfriend’s embrace. She had missed this so much. Despite the one interruption, it felt much more dignified to spend time together here than in the back seat of a car. This time, Sterling was the one to close the gap between their lips. 

“I could do this all day, but we should probably finish our project,” Sterling whispered as she broke the kiss.

“You’re right. I fully expect an A+, even though we got a little… distracted. Are you finally ready to do what I tell you?”

“Of course. I aim to please, and I wouldn’t want to let _my girlfriend_ down.” 

Hearing that was never going to get old.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April and Sterling celebrate officially becoming "friends" at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of fluff in this chapter. They can have a little happiness, as a treat.
> 
> As always, thanks for your comments!

The following Monday, Ellen started off Bible class more eagerly than usual.

“I took y’all’s board games home this past weekend and played ‘em all with my cats and my mailperson. We had so much fun!”

“Told you,” April whispered to her girlfriend. She was unable to hide her grin, which was due in part to being right about Ellen’s weekend activities and in part to simply having a girlfriend.

The past few days had been like something out of a dream for April. Her phone was constantly chiming with kissing emojis and cute messages from Sterling. Waking up to “good morning” texts with three hearts and FaceTiming Sterling before bed every night put her in a better mood each day. Sometimes they talked about things like what books they were reading, and other times, the conversation went deeper and touched on things like how Sterling was dealing with the aftermath of what had happened to her. Regardless of the topic, chatting with _her girlfriend_ every night was doing wonders for the insomnia that had long plagued April. 

Last Friday, she and Sterling had even orchestrated a steamy make-out session during lunch in the very same supply closet where Blair had made her infamous dumpster threat. Making new memories! 

“Let’s just go ahead and get the grades out of the way so we can focus our full attention on the Word of God, okay?” Ellen said as she gathered up a stack of papers from her desk and began distributing them to each table. 

“What? You’re giving us a C- again?” cried Ezekiel as he and Hannah B. received their grade.

Ellen clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You can’t take a Sharpie and write ‘for my sins’ on a ‘Sorry!’ board, Ezekiel.” 

“That was all Hannah B.”

“You said you were grading us on the fun factor, and ‘Sorry!’ is the funnest game,” explained Hannah B. She leaned over Ezekiel to look up at Ellen with one of her thousand-yard stares, then whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“I need to start partnering up with April again,” Ezekiel mumbled. 

April’s sudden increase in happiness hadn’t flown completely under his radar, and she could tell. But Ezekiel was a man of many secrets himself, so he was unlikely to pry. She could feel his gaze as a giddy Ellen placed a paper in front of her. 

April’s eyes lit up at the bright red A+ at the top of the page. She turned the paper to show Sterling, who flashed one of those big, dumb grins April loved so much. 

Sterling nudged April’s shoulder. “I told you we make a great team.”

April nudged back and delivered the line she had been looking forward to for ages. “You know, you’re not so bad, Sterling.”

She reached out for a high-five, which Sterling accepted. There it was. Now they were free to associate in public! Well, platonically, anyway. The urge to jump into Sterling’s arms was overwhelming. Would it be too much to give her a hug? 

April didn’t miss the curious glint in Ezekiel’s eye as he looked at the two of them, but she wasn’t about to tell him anything. 

The hug would certainly be too much. Baby steps.

Ellen, on the verge of bursting into tears, stared at the secret couple with what could only be described as massive heart eyes. She clutched the stack of papers to her green polo-clad chest like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to this Earth. 

The teacher squealed, “This makes my heart so happy, girls! I always knew y’all were a perfect team. April and Sterling. Sterling and April.” She gasped and looked as if an invisible light bulb had gone off over her head. “Team Stepril! My favorite gal pals.”

April blushed. She should have known Ellen would lose her mind at the sight of her and Sterling getting along, but she never expected to be quite so embarrassed. Seriously, Ellen, _Team Stepril?_ April had read fanfiction before, so she knew what it meant when you smashed two people’s names together! And obviously, Ellen did not know that “gal pals” was a gay meme. She glanced over at her girlfriend, who also looked a bit red in the face from the attention. 

Miraculously, Ellen managed to distribute the rest of the grades without humiliating April any further, and class continued without any major interruptions. About halfway through the lesson, Sterling scribbled something in her notebook and tapped April’s hand with her pencil to get her attention. 

_Hey, favorite gal pal. Want to celebrate our A+ after school?_

_I’d love that,_ April wrote back.

_Great! You mind driving? Can’t leave Blair stranded._

_No._

_Wait for me in the hall after class. :)_

April was elated. Although they’d had many secret meetings as… whatever they were before, this would be their first date as official girlfriends. She was going on a _date_ with her _girlfriend!_ Until these past few weeks, that was something she could have never imagined happening to her in high school. Butterflies filled her stomach. She was equal parts excited for the date and nervous that someone might see them. Atlanta was a big city, though. If they got far enough away from their neighborhood, as they had done with the arcade, it seemed unlikely. She would be up for another game of skeeball if that was the plan. For the sake of her own sanity, April decided to cautiously trust whatever Sterling had in mind. Luckily, Bible class was the last class of the day on Mondays, so she wouldn’t be kept waiting too long.

After the bell rang, April called her mother and told her that she would be tutoring Horny Lorna again. She waited in the hall while Sterling caught up with Blair to explain their plans.

“You can take the Volt this afternoon,” said Sterling as she handed her sister the keys to their car. “April and I are going to go celebrate our A+.”

Blair made a grossed-out face. “Eww, have fun.”

April still could not bring herself to make eye contact with Blair after the little incident on Sterling’s bedroom floor. That had easily been one of the most cringeworthy moments of her entire existence. Every time she saw Blair, she reflexively looked down to make sure her pants were buttoned. April even caught herself doing it while wearing a skirt, as she was at that very moment. Blair seemed to avoid eye contact as well, so at least they were equally traumatized. 

The crowd in the hall had begun to thin out as all of the students left campus or headed to extracurriculars. April was glad. Although they were now publicly on “not so bad” terms, and news traveled fast, she still wondered what people would think if they saw her leave school with Sterling. As if on cue, Sterling waved goodbye to her sister and walked over.

“Ready?” 

“Yes. I told my mom I’m tutoring Horny Lorna again.”

“I told mine I have work this afternoon. Oh gosh, I hope she doesn’t start craving yogurt.”

“I don’t really care for yogurt, but I’ll have to visit you one day,” April said, unable to hide her smile. She then leaned in a little closer and whispered, “I bet you look cute in your yogurt apron.”

“I do look cute in my yogurt apron!” Sterling bragged as she held the door for April. “But just so you know, Blair is usually working with me.”

“Ugh, I’ll never be able to look her in the eye again.”

The secret girlfriends made their way through the courtyard and to the student parking lot without being accosted by a lovesick Luke or a lambchop-bearing Hannah B. April led Sterling to a white Audi and unlocked the door. Taylor Swift’s _Folklore_ started up as the radio came to life. Once inside, they were back in their own little bubble of romance. No one was near the car, so April took her girlfriend’s hand and laced their fingers together. So satisfying. She had been dying to do that all day. 

“Where did you want to go, Sterl?” April inquired with a softness reserved only for the bubble.

Sterling caressed the back of April’s hand with her thumb and answered, “It’s pretty nice out today, so I thought maybe we could do something like drive into the city and get coffee and a snack to take to the park.”

“That sounds lovely.” April turned out on the main road, leaving Willingham in the rearview mirror. She meant to follow up by asking what coffee shop Sterling had in mind, but her brain short-circuited a little when the other girl rested her hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Let’s go to The Java Factory,” said Sterling, as if she had predicted April’s miniature loss of function. 

“Okay. I know where that is.” 

The coffee shop in question was just a block away from a park near Midtown, so they would likely run into some traffic on the way home. Not that April minded traffic, as it only prolonged her time away from her parents. She quickly dismissed any thoughts of them. It was time to devote her full attention to her beautiful girlfriend instead. 

The novelty of that word still hadn’t worn off.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at The Java Factory. April had been there a few times with Hannah B., who considered it a favorite. Upon entering, the first thing one noticed was the giant menu board handwritten in chalk and packed with illustrations. The shop itself was small; there were only about ten seats in total. Much of the floor space was being taken up by a giant pastry case. Kitschy posters and knick-knacks lined the bright orange walls, giving it the feel of an eccentric elder’s home. Although the decor left much to be desired in April’s opinion, and she would _never_ take her order to stay in such a place, the quality of the actual coffee was outstanding. It was always smooth with a hint of fruitiness, and unlike the coffee at a certain chain with a green logo, it never tasted burnt. 

Sterling had immediately turned her attention to the pastry case. April joined her girlfriend in front of the cookies, cakes, and scones and touched her arm lightly.

“See anything you want?”

“You mean, like, besides you?” 

A shy smile spread across April’s face. “Stop!” 

“What do you think we should get? I’m thinking cupcakes.”

April shook her head. “Cupcakes have too much frosting. It’s disgusting. If you want cake, we should just get a big slice of regular cake and share it.”

“Cupcakes are so fun, though,” Sterling pouted. “You can wipe the frosting off, or let me eat it.”

“Convince me, then. You take the affirmative. I’ll take the negative.”

Yes, April was seriously prepared to debate the merits of cupcakes versus sliced cake with her girlfriend right there in the middle of The Java Factory. In fact, she had never looked forward to anything more. 

“We should get cupcakes because they are way cuter than sliced cake,” Sterling began. She pointed to the cupcakes in the case, which were all decorated with sprinkles and peaks of neon frosting. “That one has edible glitter.”

“You think cupcakes are cute because of the sprinkles and the neon frosting, but have you ever considered how _un-cute_ it is when you bite into one and get blue stuff all over your face? We should get sliced cake because it has a much better frosting-to-cake ratio and can be eaten with a fork. Plus, none of the colors will stain our faces.”

“That’s why sliced cake is boring, though.”

April shrugged. “Well, I don’t know if I would want to kiss a blue mouth.”

The barista cleared his throat. “Are you two ever gonna order?”

April’s face hardened. With another one of her signature bitch glares, she replied, “We’re the only people in here.” She turned back to Sterling, and her icy exterior immediately melted. “Are you ready to order, Sterl?”

Sterling nodded. “Yes, you make a great point.”

They left the cafe with a whipped cream-covered pumpkin spice latte for Sterling, a black coffee for April, and a thick slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting. April deposited some more money in the parking meter and grabbed the blanket she kept in her car as a perpetually cold person. They walked over to the large iron gates shielding the green space from the bustling city. Since it was a weekday afternoon, there weren’t too many other people in the park. That relaxed April a bit. If she didn’t have to carry her coffee and the blanket, she would consider a little hand-holding action. 

It was late September, and the leaves were just starting to change. Thanks to Atlanta’s latitude, it was still reasonably warm outside, so they could actually enjoy the view. Sterling and April walked to a corner of the park dotted with many trees and took a seat beneath one. April’s cheeks grew hot as Sterling’s leg brushed against hers. She took a sip of her coffee to distract herself.

Sterling made a face. “I can’t believe you drink black coffee.”

“I can’t believe you drink what is essentially a hot milkshake.”

After a quick glance to ensure no one they knew was secretly lurking, April set her coffee down and put her arm around Sterling. Being able to do this felt amazing.

“What I _really_ can’t believe is Ellen today,” said Sterling with a chuckle.

“Right? I think she’d spontaneously combust if she knew what ‘Team Stepril’ really did.”

“And then she called us her ‘favorite gal pals!’” 

April cringed. The “favorite gal pals” line was way too much. She buried her face in Sterling’s shoulder for a moment as the embarrassment came flooding back to her.

“At least she liked our game and gave us the A+ we rightfully deserved.”

Sterling took a sip of her disgustingly sweet concoction, then responded, “Did you see the competition? Just like with Solomon’s Temple, we’re the only ones who tried!”

April grinned. “Ezekiel is getting so offended that I keep leaving him to be paired with Hannah B. But I always end up having to do everything myself when I work with him, and I’d rather work with my girlfriend anyway.”

“I saw him looking at us today. Do you think he suspects something?”

“Ezekiel knows better than to pry.”

April had long suspected that Ezekiel was gay himself, but she would never bring it up. That was part of the reason she had been drawn to him when he first moved to the area in seventh grade. Everyone was terrified of her, even back then, so she figured she could protect him by befriending him. He had even come with her to the Straight-Straight Alliance, which consisted mostly of closeted boys, some of whom she had seen exchange phone numbers with him. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Ezekiel suspected something. He had firsthand witnessed her having complete meltdowns over two girls throughout the course of their friendship. Over the years, he had probably noticed her sneaking glances at the cheerleaders’ lunch table. But he never said anything. This topic was one they simply did not discuss, and she saw no reason why that should change just because she had a secret girlfriend. After all, the word “secret” meant just that. 

“Let’s eat some of your boring cake,” suggested Sterling. 

“It’s not boring just because it won’t get glitter everywhere! The Java Factory’s cakes are actually quite delicious. Hannah B. gets them all the time.”

She opened up the box and handed Sterling one of the forks. As always, the cake was sublime. Soft and buttery without being too rich. The look on Sterling’s face as she took her first bite of the “boring” cake was priceless.

“Oh my gosh, I’m glad I lost that debate! This cake is amazing.” 

“Their interior decorating skills may be lacking, but their baking skills most certainly are not.”

“I like their lattes, but I’ve never tried any of the food before. Wow.”

They finished the cake slice. April tensed up when an elderly straight couple walked by on the path a few feet away from where they were sitting. She didn’t know them, but she felt a sort of uneasiness that they might somehow just _know_ she and Sterling were on a date and say something. She knew that rationally, there was no reason to think that. They were just two girls drinking coffee and sitting next to each other. Nevertheless, she couldn’t shake the thought that maybe they could read minds. But the elderly couple passed on by without even so much as looking at April and Sterling. 

Being on a date in broad daylight instead of in the dark laser tag arena would take some getting used to. Once they were out of sight, April reached over and took Sterling’s hand. She thought she might die when Sterling brought her hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it.

“Hey, April? I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly shyer than usual, Sterling dropped her gaze to the ground and said, “My parents are going out of town next weekend. Um, do you wanna come over? I’ll make sure Blair stays out of our way this time.”

April’s eyes widened. “You mean, like, sleep over?”

“Yeah, if you want,” suggested a sheepish Sterling. 

Sterling was asking her to sleep over! April was once again glad that she had worn her hair down because her ears were most certainly turning red. She needed to play it cool to hide some of her nervous excitement.

April put on her best serious face and said, “Asking me to sleep over on our first official date as girlfriends? Wow, Sterling.”

“I-I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable!” she stammered. “You could also just come over for the day. No pressure. I would really like it if you did sleep over, but you definitely don’t have to. And it doesn’t mean we have to… _do it._ ”

Nervous Sterling was the cutest Sterling. April looked around to make sure they were alone, then gave her girlfriend a quick, soft kiss. 

When she pulled away, April answered, “Yes! My maxilla is going numb just thinking about it.”

“Mine too.”


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April and Sterling enjoy having a night to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory “Fuck Netflix” message.
> 
> I was on the fence about dropping this chapter tonight, but it was already 95% ready to go, and I HAD BEEN really excited about it until, well, you know. But I ended up thinking maybe it would be nice to give you all something after what we've been through this evening.
> 
> I love these characters, and I’m not going to stop writing about them just because Netflix has a terminal case of Dumb. Like I said back in Chapter One, they inspire me in a way that no other characters have in quite a few years. This show was such an unexpected delight. It checked, like, every single box I have. The smartly satirical tone. The quotable lines and perfect humor. The southern Christian high school setting I am all too familiar with. The lesbian “Alpha Bitch” (favorite trope) and an enemies to lovers storyline. It had everything that speaks to me personally. 
> 
> I also have an idea now of how this story is going to wrap up. And honestly, I have so many more Teenage Bounty Hunters fic ideas too. Expect to see more. If Netflix won’t continue these awesome characters' stories, I will. I will treat my babies right. I love them and don't want to see their potential to go waste.
> 
> As long as I have an AO3 account, Sterling and April will have their someday!
> 
> This chapter is a little mature, but I am not crossing the explicit smut barrier, so I'm gonna leave the rating as is.

At long last, it was the Friday that April had been looking forward to ever since her date with Sterling in the park. She was actually going to sleep over at Sterling’s house! If something happened, wonderful. If not, she would still get to cuddle with her girlfriend all night, and that would be a win of immeasurable proportions too. Her parents thought she was going to be spending her Friday night with Hannah B. Spending both nights with Sterling would have been ideal, but there was the matter of church on Sunday morning. It would be too obvious that she had lied about being with Hannah B. if she showed up separately.

She had been lying to her parents so much as of late. Normally, she hated lying, but who cared when everything about “Team Stevens” was already a lie anyway? Daddy had asked her about Sterling and Blair again, which she still found bizarre. If it had been just Sterling, she would have been thrust back into full-on panic mode, but the inclusion of Blair was throwing her off. He had never cared much for the Wesleys, not even back when April and Sterling were best friends in elementary school. His sudden interest was disconcerting, but this time, April was determined not to let that stop her from enjoying her secret relationship. Unless he asked about Sterling specifically, she figured she shouldn’t worry too much.

It had happened during the UGA football game last weekend. April hated football. Who on Earth would ever want to watch a bunch of sweaty men running around for hours? But her father was obsessed. He had demanded she watch the first half with him and fetch his snacks and beer as part of this new reconnecting initiative. Spending time with him after what he did was becoming so uncomfortable, but saying no to him was unthinkable. When she handed him a bag of his favorite sour cream and onion chips, he asked, “Padawan, have you heard anything interesting about the Wesley twins lately?” 

April hadn’t been able to get her father’s question out of her mind all week. At first, she wanted to tell Sterling, but excitement for their upcoming night together made her decide against it. She didn’t want to do anything that could jeopardize that. She would have to tell her eventually, of course, but it could wait a few more days. 

After school let out, April made a quick stop at home to feed Sergeant Bilko and pack an overnight bag. The tabby cat purred happily at her feet as she left him a little extra food, just in case her parents forgot in the morning. They had done that once when she was away on an overnight school trip. She scratched behind his soft, velvety ears and thought about how Sergeant Bilko was the only member of the household she could trust.

April changed out of her school uniform into dark jeans and a simple striped top, then took a few moments to touch up her makeup and hair. After that was settled, she agonized a bit over what kind of pajamas she should pack. Should she go with something revealing, like a low cut tank top and shorts, or maybe something that could be unbuttoned? April didn’t want to seem too eager. After all, she didn’t know for certain whether or not anything would happen. She eventually decided on a light blue set. It was nothing too revealing, but the shirt could be unbuttoned. Just in case. 

Once she was packed up and satisfied with her appearance, April said goodbye to Sergeant Bilko, popped a mint into her mouth, and headed back out to her car. This was so exciting! She couldn’t wait to have hours of uninterrupted time to be herself with Sterling. No one could bother them. Well, except Blair, although hopefully she would steer clear after last time. As she drove, April pondered the two most important questions of the night. One: whether she and Sterling would finally get to go all the way. And two: whether tonight would be the night that she introduced her girlfriend to _Star Wars_.

She arrived at the Wesleys’ house and rang the doorbell. Much to her delight, Sterling answered.

“Hey, April!”

Instead of answering with words, April leaned in and kissed Sterling intensely. She dropped her bag on the doorstep and wrapped an arm around the taller girl’s waist. 

“I’ve been looking forward to doing that all day,” said April as she pulled away. “Hi, Sterl.”

Sterling grinned. “Wow. Yeah, I think tonight is going to be the best night ever.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from if you play your cards right.”

Sterling took April’s bag and led her inside. They only made it a few steps in before stopping to kiss again. This time, Sterling initiated. 

“It’s so great to just be able to do this,” she sighed, pulling April into a tight hug. “I’ve missed your lips.”

“I’ve missed _your_ lips.”

They went up to Sterling’s room to drop off April’s things. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Sterling’s bed. Tonight was going to be amazing!

“Do you want a snack?” asked Sterling. “We have hummus and veggies, yogurt, Oreos…”

“Yes, that would be nice.”

Blair was in the kitchen raiding the Oreos with one hand and texting with the other when Sterling and April walked in. April watched Blair and Sterling make intense eye contact for several seconds, which was weird, but she didn’t read too much into it. After all, the sisters were bizarrely and often upsettingly close. 

“Hey, April,” said Blair with an obviously forced smile.

“Blair.”

April avoided eye contact as she reached into the container of Oreos and took a few for herself. Despite the fact that she was dating Sterling, she never spoke to Blair except when necessary. She knew she would have to get used to interacting with her someday, but she didn’t exactly know where to begin. Blair was so _edgy_. Did they even have anything in common besides a connection with Sterling? 

“Don’t worry. I’m going out with some of my lacrosse teammates, so I’ll be gone for most of the night. I won’t walk in on anything again.”

Of course she had to bring that up! April’s ears and cheeks still burned at that mortifying memory. Blair was never going to let her live that moment down. 

“Oh my gosh, Blair!” hissed Sterling. “I thought we agreed to pretend that never happened.”

The brunette Wesley smirked and left the kitchen. Sterling helped herself to some Oreos as well and apologized profusely for Blair’s trollish behavior. The girlfriends finished their Oreos and retreated to the living room, where they curled up together on the couch. April rested her head in Sterling’s lap and didn’t have to hide her smile as the taller girl stroked her hair.

“It’s kinda funny,” Sterling began as she gently traced a finger along April’s cheek. “My parents said that Blair and I were not supposed to have any _boys_ over this weekend, so we’re technically not breaking any rules.”

“That’s one of the perks of having me.”

“I can think of many perks of having you,” said Sterling. She took one of April’s hands and intertwined their fingers. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“As much of this as possible.” 

April sat up and captured her girlfriend’s lips in a passionate kiss. She hoped to get at least a few dozen of those in while she and Sterling had an entire house to themselves. Sterling wrapped her arms around her and deepened the kiss. April threaded her fingers through Sterling’s silky hair, refusing to pull away until she needed to breathe. 

“I want to do as much of that as possible too! But seriously, do you want to go somewhere, or maybe get takeout and watch a movie?”

“Let’s stay in,” April suggested. “I want you all to myself this evening.”

Sterling put her arm around April and pulled the smaller girl into her side. “I am totally okay with that.”

“Would you be willing to watch _Star Wars?_ Since you’re my girlfriend, watching it someday is inevitable.”

“Yeah, we could do that.”

April started contemplating which one they should watch. This was an extremely serious decision. She fully intended to watch all of them with Sterling someday, but where to begin? Chronological order seemed like an obvious choice, but if she started with _The Phantom Menace_ , she would be showing Sterling the worst movie first. Maybe she should go in theatrical release order instead. That way, she could start with _A New Hope_. The original three were the best anyway, and she wanted to make a strong first impression. Decisions, decisions... 

“But first, more of this,” said Sterling before cutting off April’s internal debate with another kiss.

April kissed back ravenously and pulled Sterling on top of herself. No matter how many times it happened, the feeling of Sterling’s body pressed up against her own was always divine. She snaked her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and playfully grabbed her ass. She thought she heard a soft whine, but it didn’t seem to be coming from Sterling. When she heard the whining again, she reluctantly tore herself away from Sterling’s lips and looked around. There was Chloe the dog, staring up at the two of them with her big, chocolate brown eyes. At least _this_ interruptor was cute. April reached out and scratched Chloe’s fluffy chin.

“Oh, I think she wants to be let out,” said Sterling. She turned her attention to the dog and began speaking in a baby voice. “Do you want out, pretty girl?”

Chloe barked as if she was responding to Sterling’s question. The dog rushed outside as soon as Sterling opened the door, leaving the couple alone once again, but the mood had passed. They should probably save it for the bedroom. 

“Chloe is precious,” said April. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but my parents think they’re too much work.”

“At least you have Sergeant Bilko.”

“True. He’s the only one in the house who isn’t constantly drinking or quoting homophobic Scripture.”

An awkward silence followed. April leaned into Sterling’s comforting touch. 

“How have you been since your dad came home?” Sterling asked, her voice quieter than usual.

April looked up at her girlfriend and couldn’t read the expression on her face. 

“Constantly on edge,” she replied. “He keeps wanting to spend time together, but I’m not ready. I know he’s my dad, but there have always been the occasional… times of tension.”

Sterling said nothing and rubbed April’s arm. April didn’t want to talk about him, especially not since he had asked about the Wesleys again. She still didn’t know how or when to bring that up. 

“Can we not talk about him right now?” April pleaded. “I just want to enjoy our night together.”

“Sure thing, babe.” Sterling kissed April’s forehead and stood up. “I’m going to let Chloe back in.”

A couple of hours later, they sat down in front of the TV with entirely too much sushi and prepared to watch _Star Wars._ After much internal debate while waiting for the food to arrive, April had decided to go in theatrical release order. It was better to get Sterling interested before showing her the prequels. 

The yellow introductory text appeared on the screen as she dug into a spicy salmon roll. April had been eight years old the first time she ever saw _A New Hope_ — her own introduction to the world of _Star Wars._ It was such a vivid memory because it happened after weeks of her parents being cold toward her after the Adele Meisner fiasco. She could never forget the wave of all-consuming fear that had gripped her when her father called her into the living room, or the sense of relief that had come from simply getting to watch a movie with him instead of having to hear another lecture about embarrassing the family. That had been the beginning of one of the few positive aspects of their relationship. 

Watching it with the prettiest girl at Willingham by her side was much, much nicer. Once again, she thought about what a colossal “fuck you” watching this movie with her girlfriend would be to her father. Wouldn’t it be funny if _Star Wars_ became her and Sterling’s thing instead?

She could quote half of the movie by now, but she decided to sit back and not react too strongly to anything. Sterling needed to get the full experience.

“Did you like it?” April inquired immediately as the movie finished. If Sterling answered incorrectly, she feared she might have to reevaluate their relationship.

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Surprisingly? It’s the greatest film franchise of all time. But I’m glad you did!” April exclaimed. She clapped eagerly, as she often did whenever she got excited.

This woke up Chloe, who had been asleep on the floor next to the couch. The fluffy dog turned around and rested her cheek against April’s leg. April stroked Chloe’s soft brown fur, falling a little more in love with the idea of having a dog someday with each pass. 

“Wow,” said Sterling, “she really likes you. She usually doesn’t like new people very much.”

“I’m honored.”

A shy look crossed Sterling’s face. She took April’s hand in her own and asked, “Do you want to go upstairs?”

The realization that she was about to go up to Sterling’s room for the night, while they had the house to themselves, suddenly hit April. She had fantasized about this moment for so long that to finally be there felt surreal. Her heart started beating almost as hard as she was crushing on Sterling. She nodded and allowed the blonde to lead her up to the bedroom.

“I’m going to change,” announced Sterling.

Before April could react, Sterling began to remove her shirt. The smaller girl’s eyes widened and she spun around to face the wall, clearly flustered. April had no idea how to navigate this situation. Sterling was her girlfriend, but she hadn’t ever seen her in that state of undress.What was the proper etiquette here? 

“You can look, April. It’s okay.” Sterling laughed, then suddenly seemed more nervous. “Or don’t. It’s up to you. Um, I don’t want to, like, pressure you or anything.”

April decided not to. Her patellas were shaky enough as it was. She changed clothes quickly while Sterling went off to brush her teeth. Although she was absolutely certain that she was ready to go all the way with Sterling she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. This could be their only chance for a while if they wanted to do it somewhere more romantic than the back seat of the Volt. She sat on the bed and turned her full attention to studying the various items on the adjacent shelves to keep her thoughts from overwhelming her. A cross. A neon sign in the shape of the word “love.” Were those _Twilight_ books?

Sterling reappeared. “Okay, the bathroom is all yours.”

April spent longer than usual brushing her teeth because she wanted her breath to be extra fresh. Admittedly, she was also still feeling anxious. Would tonight finally be it? The anticipation was killing her. She locked eyes with her reflection and whispered her mantra.

“I do not believe God will smite me for being a lesbian. He made me, along with narwhals and those tiny blue poison frogs, so clearly He has a master plan.”

It wasn’t really applicable to the situation at hand because the religious component had nothing to do with her nerves, but the words never failed to soothe her. April took a deep breath and exited the bathroom. Whatever happened next would be okay. 

Sterling was already waiting for her in bed. The blonde patted the empty space next to herself and winked. April pulled the covers around them and melted into Sterling’s embrace. Without a doubt, this was the safest and coziest place she had ever been. She rested her head on Sterling’s chest and took her hand. In that moment, nothing mattered except the soft pitter-patter of her girlfriend’s heartbeat. 

It had been a long time since April had gotten to enjoy an experience even kind of like this. Her parents had started making her friends stay in the guest room in eighth grade after her mom found her holding hands with Olivia Rutherford in her sleep. (She had always been grateful that Hannah B. was not smart enough to question the practice of separate rooms.) Of course, that joy was small and short-lived. Olivia had started dating some ugly baseball jock two days later, shattering April’s young heart. They never spoke again. This time was much better because Sterling was someone she could actually kiss, and no one was around to bother them.

“This is amazing,” said Sterling, breaking the silence. 

April sighed contentedly. “I know.”

Sterling stroked April’s hair. “You look so cute right now.”

“Because I’m in your bed?”

“Maybe.”

April gave her girlfriend a light peck on the cheek, then one on the lips. And another. And another, the level of heat steadily increasing until Sterling finally rolled over and pinned her to the bed. She pulled Sterling’s body flush against hers as Sterling slipped her some tongue. April ran her hand up the back of Sterling’s shirt, savoring the way her skin felt underneath her fingertips. She moaned softly when Sterling started kissing down her neck.

Sterling pulled away suddenly, her face flushed, and rubbed April’s cross necklace between her thumb and index finger. She looked as if she was hesitating to ask something. April couldn’t help growing a little impatient, but she tried her best not to show it. 

“Hey, April?” Sterling finally began. “Um, how… How far do you want to go tonight? Because I’m down to go all the way. I mean, if you want to!”

April was expecting this, but the words still felt foreign to her ears. She had dreamed of the moment a girl she really liked would ask her that ever since she had been old enough to have thoughts of that nature. It never seemed real that such a moment would actually come. She cupped Sterling’s cheek to remind herself that this was, in fact, not a dream. 

“I am too.” 

“Oh!” Sterling gasped like she hadn’t anticipated that answer. “Great! So, um, I can unbutton your—”

“Yes. Now.”

Sterling unbuttoned April’s pajama top, leaving kisses on each patch of newly exposed skin as she made her way down. The shirt ended up in a ball on the floor, joined by Sterling’s a few seconds later. Sterling’s hands and lips descended upon the uncharted territory, and April could hardly remember how to breathe.

April felt like her skin was on fire everywhere that it touched Sterling’s. She dug her nails into the other girl’s soft flesh and panted, “I want to fucking _ravage_ you, Sterling.”

She knew that normally, Sterling would scold her for using such harsh language. But this time, all Sterling did was moan as April’s immaculately trimmed nails marked up her back. April flipped her over on the bed and straddled her hips, claiming her spot on top. They continued their exchange of heated kisses until April felt a hand move from her ass to the waistband of her shorts.

“Wait,” she whispered as she climbed off of her girlfriend.

Sterling whimpered in protest. April hated to do this, as her body literally ached for Sterling’s touch, but they had forgotten something important. She hurried across the room and locked the door. Blair hadn’t said whether or not she would be returning for the night, and she wasn’t going to take any chances. 

“Just in case.” April flashed a sultry smile and made her way back over to the bed. “Now, where were we?”


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April receives some concerning news after her wonderful night with Sterling.

The following morning was one of the best that April could ever remember. Light filtering in through the window woke her up bright and early. She rolled over to check the clock. 7:54 a.m. There was no way she could go back to sleep, but it was too early to wake up Sterling. Not that April was in a hurry to wake her up. Sterling looked so cute when she slept, and April would have been fully content to just lie there in her arms for the rest of time. She cuddled closer to her girlfriend, enjoying every moment of the skin-to-skin contact.

April couldn’t believe that last night had actually happened. It was perfect— sweet and gentle at times, and rough and wild at others. Things had started off a little awkwardly. After all, it was Sterling’s first time with a girl and her first time ever. Sterling had no idea what to do with a girl, and her own knowledge was merely theoretical, but they were quick learners. She peeked under the covers to admire the hickeys and marks on Sterling’s chest and stomach. April couldn’t help but grin, partially because of her handiwork and partially because of Sterling’s gorgeous body. She had ravaged her, alright!

Upon reflection, she was also surprised to find that she didn’t really feel any different. Closer to Sterling, sure, but nothing had fundamentally changed. Of course, it had been a magnificent experience, but she was mostly just delighted that it had happened with Sterling instead of freshman year of college with some curious sorority girl who would never love her. She thought maybe she should feel a little different, but truthfully, she still felt like the same April Stevens, except a lot happier. April wished that she could wake up this happy (and this close to Sterling) every morning. 

Part of April also wished she could tell someone because her heart was just so full, but she had no one to tell. None of her friends even knew that she liked girls, let alone that she was dating one. Well, there was Blair, but in no universe would she ever discuss _that_ with the brunette Wesley. She would rather give a full, detailed play-by-play analysis to their entire church congregation than even entertain that idea. The thought that Sterling and Blair might discuss it later made her cringe, but she had always known it was a possibility. They did, unfortunately, share everything.

April figured she should put some clothes on and go downstairs to make coffee. Sterling reached out for her in her sleep as soon as she moved to get out of bed. Tears of adoration sprang to April’s eyes. She had never felt so genuinely wanted! Abandoning her plan to get some caffeine in her system, she crawled back under the covers and into Sterling’s arms. Sterling sighed contentedly as soon as their bodies made contact again. A few more minutes couldn’t hurt. She didn’t plan to leave the Wesleys’ house until noon, anyway, and that was only because Sterling had work at Yogurtopia. 

After enjoying the closeness for a little while longer, April reluctantly disentangled herself from Sterling and picked her clothes up off of the floor. She got dressed, then neatly folded Sterling's clothes and placed them on the bed for when she woke up.

April went downstairs and started brewing a pot of coffee. She tensed up when she heard the front door open, but it was just Blair. April guessed she had spent the night with one of her lacrosse teammates, which thankfully meant that she hadn’t overheard last night’s... activities. The edgy girl looked April up and down for a moment before a knowing look spread across her face.

Blair grinned. “You don’t even have to say anything because I already know.”

April’s eyes widened. She turned away from Blair and silently prayed for the coffee to hurry up and finish brewing. “I don’t know what you mean,” she mumbled.

“I think you do.”

“You and I are not discussing this topic, _ever_.”

“You’re no fun!”

Shortly after Blair left the room to let Chloe out into the backyard, April felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She turned around to face Sterling, who planted a good morning kiss on her eager lips.

“Good morning, Sterl.”

“Morning.” Sterling leaned in close and whispered, “You’re so good with your hands.”

Embarrassment colored April’s cheeks and ears. “Sterling! Your sister is home.”

Blair reappeared, as if on cue, and began to pour herself a bowl of cereal. Smirking, she said, “Congratulations on the sex!”

Sterling threw a dish towel at her sister. April nearly dropped her cup of coffee. 

“Do you want coffee?” April asked her girlfriend. “I would offer Blair some too, but I can’t look at her right now.”

“No, thank you.”

“Hey!” Blair pouted. “I want caffeine.”

April gestured to the coffee pot. “Pour it yourself, pervert!”

“I’m not being a pervert,” huffed Blair as she got a mug out of the cabinet. “I think it’s great that you’ve officially joined the land of the sex people.”

“How did you—”

Sterling pulled April close. “Blair, don’t torment her.”

“Ugh, fine. I’m gonna go upstairs, then.”

Blair took her cereal and coffee and left the kitchen after what seemed like an eternity to April. Sterling made toast and cut up some fruit. They ate breakfast, then curled up on the couch together to squeeze in a bit more affection before Sterling had to get ready for work. April didn’t even mind when Sterling turned on some mindless, trashy reality show she could hardly stand to look at. Nothing mattered except the feeling of Sterling’s arm around her shoulders. 

The rest of the morning passed by entirely too fast. Kissing Sterling goodbye so she could get ready for work was one of the hardest things April had ever done. She knew she needed to get back to the hellish pit known as the Stevens household, but April took a moment to just sit in her car and reflect. Images from the previous night flooded her mind. If she concentrated enough, she could still feel the divine sensation of Sterling’s lips on her neck and her chest, as well as other places. 

April hoped to have a thousand more nights just like that.

Her heart dropped when she pulled into the driveway. Both of her parents’ cars were in their spots. She had been hoping to at least come home to an empty house. A glowing, fake smile and some made up bullshit about her evening with “Hannah B.” were necessities now.

“Mom? Daddy? I’m home!” she announced as she walked through the front door. 

“Padawan, is that you?” her father called back. “Come into the living room. I need to talk to you.”

April’s heart rate immediately skyrocketed. Those words never meant anything good coming from him. She swallowed the wave of nausea threatening to overtake her body and approached the living room. Her father was sitting on the couch, the TV was off, and there was no sign of her mother or Sergeant Bilko anywhere. They were alone in the eerie silence.

“Yes, Daddy?” she inquired.

“Sit down.”

April felt even smaller than usual as she took a seat in the chair across from the couch. She prayed that the fear and unease didn’t show on her face. 

“You may have been wondering why I asked you about the Wesleys a few times recently.”

The walls were closing in. She wanted to cry.

“Um, no, I wasn’t wondering that at all, actually,” she replied, her voice a bit higher than normal. “It’s not my place to question you, Daddy.”

Her father folded his hands in his lap and calmly asked, “Wouldn’t you like to know the real reason why Daddy was _so wrongfully_ thrown in prison?”

“...Yes, sir?”

“Those two little godless bitches you go to school with moonlight as bounty hunters when they’re not drinking or having premarital sex, if you can believe it. They stalked me to our lake house and arrested me. They claimed they had video evidence against me, but their video didn’t show the part where that hooker disrespected me. She was asking for it, April, honestly. None of this would have ever happened if not for them.”

Convinced that she was about to be sick, April went pale.

“I just thought my little Padawan should know the truth about her Daddy,” he continued. “I’m not a bad guy.”

“I don’t know what to say,” said April, and for once, it wasn’t a lie.

“Take your time, but I hope that with this new information, you’ll consider going to the country club for a round of golf with your old man after church tomorrow.”

“I’m not sure, Daddy. Thank you for the offer, but I have a lot of homework, so I can’t make a promise."

”Well, school always comes first. Stay away from those Wesleys, though. Not only did they tear our family apart, but I’m also pretty sure Blair is a dyke, if the way she dresses means anything.”

Nothing made her skin crawl quite like Daddy using that word. Every time she heard him say it, which was unsettlingly often, she wished to evaporate into thin air. Usually, it triggered a hot rage that she would silently stew in for several hours. She would sit in her room and think about how ignorant he was. Being a lesbian wasn’t contagious! Blair was the straight one, and clothes had nothing to do with it! On any other day, she would gleefully fantasize about watching him keel over after she looked him directly in the eye and told him that she had shared _Star Wars_ with Sterling Wesley and then fucked her senseless. 

But this time, April felt completely hollow. She wasn’t sure if she was even capable of anger at the moment because she could hardly process what he had just said. The Wesleys were… bounty hunters? How did that even work? She was inclined to think that her father was full of shit, but some of Sterling’s “Yogurtopia shifts” were at strange hours. Come to think of it, she had also noticed some strange bruises underneath Sterling’s shirt the first time she took it off during one of their make-out sessions. Surely, Sterling would have told her something like this, though. As her girlfriend, she had a right to know that Sterling was involved in such dangerous work. And she most certainly had a right to know that Sterling was the one who had arrested her father.

“Yes, sir. I’m going to go do my Physics homework now, if you don’t have anything else to tell me.”

“Nothing else. Go make me proud!”

April hurried up the stairs and collapsed on her bed. Her head was spinning so fast that she could hardly piece two thoughts together. She opened her phone and typed out a message to her girlfriend. 

**To: SW (1:32 p.m.)**

_Call me as soon as your shift ends._

The hours ticked by like decades. April had no idea how to feel. If true, this new development certainly explained why her father had been asking about the Wesleys. But she didn’t want to believe it. How could Sterling not tell her something this important? 

Eventually, her phone chimed. Sterling was trying to FaceTime her. She picked up. A smiling image of her girlfriend filled the screen.

“Hey, babe!” exclaimed Sterling before blowing a kiss into the phone. “I missed you all afternoon. Did you want to talk about something?”

April took a deep breath and decided to just let it all out. “My father asked about you again. He told me that you and Blair are secretly bounty hunters and that you were the ones who arrested him.”

Sterling’s face fell. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Tears formed in her baby blue eyes. “Um, well, yeah, but—”

“How could you not tell me, Sterling? This whole debacle has put so much strain on my family!”

“I was going to tell you, April! I was, I promise!” Sterling started to sob. “I just didn’t know how or when. I really like you, okay? I really like you, and I was scared y-you’d hate me if you knew.”

“What the hell?” April hissed. “You’re my girlfriend. You’re supposed to tell me the truth. I trusted you with my heart, my body, and most importantly, my biggest secret. I should’ve heard this from you, not him.”

“April, I’m sorry!” Sterling cried as she wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. “You’re right, and I’m so sorry I didn’t know how to explain. You hate me, don’t you? I knew it.” 

“No,” said April. Seeing Sterling cry put her on the verge of tears too. “No, Sterling, I don’t hate you, but I need some time to process this.”

“Are we breaking up?”

“No, but I need some space right now, okay? I’ll text you when I’m ready to talk again.”

“Okay,” sighed Sterling. 

The pain in Sterling’s voice was almost too much. Before her own tears started flowing, April said goodbye and ended the call. 

Betrayed and broken-hearted, April curled up on her bed and allowed herself to cry. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed for the worse in just a few hours. Everything had been perfect when she woke up with Sterling that morning. Now, she knew that the person who had filled her heart with so much joy was the same person responsible for everything her family had been through over the past few weeks. April heard scratching at the door, so she got up and let Sergeant Bilko in. She set him down on the bed and stroked his soft fur while she cried. 

“Bilko, what should I do?” she sniffled.

The cat meowed and headbutted her shoulder. She pulled him close, knowing he would only tolerate it for thirty seconds at most before biting, but his presence helped.

April wasn’t upset at the fact that Daddy had gone to prison. He unquestionably deserved it for what he did to that woman. Whether she had “disrespected” him didn’t matter. It was also undeniable that she felt so much freer when he was behind bars. If that had never happened, April doubted that she would have had the courage to lock the door to Ellen’s office and kiss Sterling back on that fateful afternoon. But there had been upsetting consequences. It seriously uprooted her life, made her mother start drinking again, and created so much gossip within the community. 

She was also upset because she felt like her trust had been broken. How could her own _girlfriend_ not tell her something of such paramount importance? The most horrible thought snaked its way into her mind. Sterling clearly liked her now, but what if the Solomon’s Temple project and the kiss in Ellen’s office were just meaningless ways of getting close so she could keep tabs on her father? That would make the entire beginning of their relationship a lie, which was a thought April couldn’t bear.

She hugged Sergeant Bilko again and didn’t even flinch when he sank his little fangs into her hand. The pain in her hand was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to cut off the last chapter right when it was getting good! ;) 
> 
> Thanks so much for all your comments. It means a lot because the fandom is all we have unless Netflix decides to pull their heads from their asses. 
> 
> I hate to break hearts this week. I am so, so sorry. But this is officially the longest thing I’ve ever written, so that’s pretty cool.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April has a difficult time processing the new information she didn't want to receive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for your comments. The penultimate chapter is here! Big things coming up after this. And I'm already thinking about so, so many more Stepril fics I want to write.
> 
> Apologies in advance for Google Translate Spanish.
> 
> [Sign the petition to save TBH!](https://www.change.org/p/netflix-save-teenage-bounty-hunters?recruiter=1153442209&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=97b98880-0757-11eb-8323-43f2fcf7e733)

April was miserable. It was Wednesday, and she hadn’t spoken to Sterling since Saturday afternoon. There had been times when she wanted to, but she simply could not bring herself to type out that “I’m ready to talk” message. Every time she tried, a crushing sense of self-doubt paralyzed her. Had the beginning of their relationship really been a lie? She couldn’t get the idea out of her mind. She also couldn’t stop feeling as though she had been lied to by omission. 

Every part of her life had suffered since Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, she had gotten a 70% on a Physics pop quiz. Fortunately, pop quizzes were worth very little of her final grade overall, but it was still the worst grade April had ever received in her entire life. And although she hadn’t reached the “hair full of Dorito crumbs” point of her spiral into despair, she had stopped putting much effort into her appearance. Why should Sterling, who couldn’t even tell the truth, get to see her looking her best? She barely slept four hours a night, which didn’t help things either. Worst of all, she was taking all of her frustrations out on Ezekiel and Hannah B. Normally when she was feeling angry, she would turn that energy into steamy kisses in the backseat of Sterling’s car, but since that was not an option, April decided to punish her friends instead. She cringed at the memory of lunch on Monday. Hannah B. had been guilt-tripping her about how she never came over anymore, citing the lamb chops incident, so April made her cry by telling her that her mother’s lamb chops were as dry and tasteless as British humor. It was not her finest moment.

April wordlessly took a seat next to her human punching bags for Wednesday morning Fellowship. She was too embarrassed of her behavior to look at either one of them. 

Ezekiel side-eyed her and whispered, “Still in a biting mood? Honey, you’ve got to stop having Bitch Flakes for breakfast.”

She glared at Ezekiel and chose to simply ignore him. Her attention was laser-focused on the door to the Fellowship room, anyway. The Wesleys were going to be walking through that door any minute. The knife in April’s heart twisted when Sterling finally made her appearance. Sterling seemed to hide her sadness well, but April could sense her pain every time they made eye contact from across the room. 

If only April could build a Biblical time machine back to Friday night, when the only thing that occupied her mind was loving Sterling.

April stood up to lead the Fellowship group in prayer and caught a glimpse of Sterling’s sad, apologetic eyes. Her own pain threatened to boil over, but she couldn’t show any signs of vulnerability in front of her classmates. She quickly looked down at her book of devotionals and started to read the first prayer she saw.

After Fellowship ended, she made her way to Spanish class, which wouldn’t be any better since her assigned seat was right in front of Sterling. Worse yet, Señora O'Reilly always made them start class off by practicing their conversational skills on Wednesdays. April hoped she could maybe partner with someone else, but before she could get anyone’s attention, Sterling’s soft voice called out behind her.

_“Hola, Abril.”_

April closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before turning around to face her girlfriend.

Sterling gave her a weak smile and continued, _“¿Como te sientes hoy?”_ ** _(How are you today?)_**

 _“Todavía me siento herida y traicionada,”_ said April with a sigh. _“¿Cómo estás?”_ ** _(I still feel hurt and betrayed. How are you?)_**

 _“Estoy sola. Mi... amiga... no me habla.”_ **_(I’m lonely. My… friend… won’t talk to me.)_ **

April knew Sterling was upset, but it still hurt to hear her say she felt lonely. That was something she never wanted to make her girlfriend feel. She tried to change the subject. 

_“¿Qué hiciste ayer por la noche?”_ **_(What did you do last night?)_**

 _“Comí yogur porque estaba triste.”_ Sterling looked down at the floor. _“¿Qué hiciste?”_ ** _(I ate yogurt because I was sad. What did you do?)_**

 _“Pensé en mi persona favorita,”_ April answered truthfully. _“Pero no sé cómo hablar de mis sentimientos.” **(I**_ ** _thought about my favorite person. But I don’t know how to talk about my feelings.)_ **

April silently thanked Jesus when Señora O'Reilly told the class they had practiced their conversational skills enough and moved on with the lesson. She worried that Sterling would expect to talk again soon, given what she had just said, but April truly meant it when she said she didn’t know how to talk about her feelings. She longed to have the pretty blonde back in her arms, but she was not done processing yet.

She had been in processing mode since the weekend. She had not gone golfing with her father after church on Sunday. Truthfully, April did not want to reconnect with him. He was dangerous, and their relationship had an expiration date. There was no way he would ever want anything to do with her again after she came out. Her mother _might_ , many years after the fact, but she had realized a long time ago that she would most likely end up a de facto orphan. It was best to start letting all ties with her parents slowly fade away. So instead, she had taken her own car to church on Sunday so she could go home afterwards, stopping only to pick up a burrito bowl from Chipotle so her stomach wouldn’t have to remain as empty as her heart. With the house empty, she had allowed herself thirty minutes of wallowing in her angst while listening to “Slow Burn” on repeat before starting her World History reading. The rest of her week so far had gone pretty much the same. 

As April sat in Spanish class, she grew increasingly aware of the fact that she could end her suffering by talking to Sterling. Unfortunately, she simply wasn’t ready, so the rest of Willingham was going to suffer along with her. During a game of dodgeball in Gym class, she shot an absolute rocket of a ball right into Horny Lorna’s face for simply looking at her the wrong way. She snapped at Luke in the hall when he tried to ask her what she thought of the new character posters for season two of _The_ _Mandalorian._ By the end of the day, she felt every bit as horrible as her actions.

After the final bell rang, she could have sworn she overheard Blair tell Sterling, “I’m going to put your girl in the dumpster for real this time.”

She deserved that.

April’s bad day only got worse when she walked in her front door only to find a Post-It note in her mother’s handwriting. They were going to have a “family dinner” in a few hours, which was the absolute last thing on Earth she would ever want to sit through. Her mother didn’t cook much anymore, so the food was inevitably going to be either takeout or one of those revolting store-bought casseroles that tasted like the color beige. The conversation would feel forced and awkward, and worst of all, she would have to look at her father.

But, like always, she was going to put on her perfect daughter facade with a warm smile. April went upstairs and changed into a modest green sweater and jeans. She had always liked the way she looked in green. To complete the look, she touched up her makeup and put her hair back in a tight ponytail. 

While she was getting ready, she happened to look down at the purity ring her father had given her when she was thirteen. It was still perched on her finger, as it had been every day since eighth grade, but a night between the sheets with Sterling Wesley had rendered it meaningless. Or did it ever have any true meaning? It was an expensive token from the most bizarre, heteronormative ritual ever. April felt a bit ill at the memory of how uncomfortable it had been to pledge that she would “save herself” for her nonexistent future husband while her father pledged that he would “protect her virginity” in front of all their extended family. The idea of that man protecting anything was laughable. She slid the ring off of her finger and felt an odd sense of relief. Short-lived, of course, because she would have to put it back on before dinner. But maybe she would start taking it off when she was alone or with Sterling.

 _Sterling._ Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach at the thought of Sterling. She missed her so much.

At dinnertime, April appeared in the kitchen to help her mother, just as the perfect daughter should. She set the table and tried her best to hide her disappointment when she realized they were having store-bought beige casserole. Once everything was ready, she went upstairs and knocked on the door of her father’s forbidden office to signal that it was time to eat.

“How was school, darling?” her mother asked after they had finished their lengthy prayer. She was only on her second glass of wine of the night, so the slight buzz made her somewhat friendly rather than argumentative. Things would probably be alright for the duration of the meal if she didn’t help herself to another.

“It was fine.”

“And your friends?”

“I’m focusing solely on academics right now,” April said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I’m having a fight with Ezekiel and Hannah B. over… planning the Fellowship Bake Sale.”

“I never liked that fruity boy,” Daddy remarked. 

“Daddy, please don’t—”

His frosty glare shut April up quickly. She dropped her gaze down to her bland, beige casserole and picked at it a bit more. April didn’t feel like eating. Neither one of her parents attempted any further conversation, leaving a thick silence hanging in the air. Maybe it was all in her imagination, but April felt as if her father was making even more homophobic remarks than usual lately. Normally, she wouldn’t dare say anything, but she was just growing so _tired._ At least she would be out of his house forever in less than two years. 

“May I be excused?” she asked, unable to continue looking at her father’s face. 

“Yes, Padawan.”

April dropped her plate off in the kitchen and wasted no time getting upstairs. She couldn’t take this anymore. Homework would be a fine distraction. She pulled her Spanish vocabulary list out of her bag and started to memorize it. 

But no matter how hard she tried to focus on her Spanish homework, April couldn’t ignore the way she was still seething at her father’s “fruity boy” comment about Ezekiel. Daddy was such an unbelievable piece of shit. No, scratch that. He was a perfectly believable piece of shit. That was the true essence of John Stevens. He was nothing more than a hateful bigot, and that would never change. 

The thought of Ezekiel came with a heaping side of guilt. April was tired of being meaner than usual to her friends. She made a mental note to think of a decent cover story so that she could finally apologize for her recent behavior at school. But should she have to lie to _Ezekiel?_ Maybe it was time to consider telling him the truth. If she could trust Hannah B. to keep a secret, maybe she could know too. She wouldn't mention Sterling by name, of course, but just maybe her friends deserved to know she was having some girl trouble. It was something to consider, at least.

April’s thoughts shifted back to her all-consuming contempt for her father. Sterling hadn't torn Team Stevens apart. The team captain had already done that a long time ago. Everything that had happened to their family over the past few weeks was his fault alone, and this internal conflict didn’t deserve a single additional moment of her time. The only thing she should worry about was whether or not the beginning of her relationship with Sterling had been genuine, and that would be easy enough to figure out. She grabbed her phone and typed out a long-awaited message to her girlfriend.

**To: SW (7:57 p.m.)**

_Hey, I miss you. I’m ready to talk._

Almost immediately after April hit the send button, three dots popped up, indicating that Sterling was typing her response. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to read Sterling’s reply because Daddy called her name from down the hall.

“Yes, Daddy?” she called back.

“I need to see you in my office.”

His office? The one room in the house she had never been in before because it was off-limits to women? April’s blood ran cold. She had no idea what to expect, only that it must be something dire.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April deals with a shocking request from her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, the end! Thank you so much for all your comments and kudos. I loved writing about these characters, and you can certainly expect to see more stories about our adorable friends at Willingham. 
> 
> Don't forget to [sign the Save TBH petition](https://www.change.org/p/netflix-save-teenage-bounty-hunters?recruiter=1153442209&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=97b98880-0757-11eb-8323-43f2fcf7e733) if you haven't yet!

April couldn’t believe she was really standing in her father’s office. It looked more or less the same as she had always imagined it would look. A stately mahogany bookcase filled with thick tomes on business, religion, and history lined an entire wall. His UGA degree hung proudly over the mantle of an exposed brick fireplace. There were numerous photos of himself and his golf buddies but none of her or her mother. She couldn’t say she was surprised, but it stung a little regardless.

Her father fixed himself a glass of scotch and pulled the curtains closed before taking a seat behind his desk, which was decorated with an assortment of _Star Wars_ figurines. She sat down on the leather couch across from the desk.

In a desperate attempt to quell her nerves, April said the first thing that came to mind. “Your office is charming, Daddy. The collectibles are a nice touch.”

“Thank you, Padawan. I called you in here because I need you to do something for me.”

“Of course,” she said with a forced smile.

April figured she would probably regret that later, but saying no to him was hardly an option. She did not even want to think of the consequences.

He took a long sip of his scotch, then said, “I’m sure you remember what I told you on Saturday about the Wesley girls.”

She already hated where this was going, but nevertheless, she responded, “Yes, sir.”

“I’m going to ruin the Wesleys for what they’ve done to our family, but I’ll need your help.”

April’s face betrayed her. She could not hide the abject horror that had gripped her upon hearing those words, but her father did not seem to be fazed.

Her father reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small bag full of something green.

“I want you to put this in the blonde one’s locker tomorrow,” he said, as if this was an entirely normal thing to ask of his teenage daughter. “We all already know she drinks, so this isn’t too much of a stretch to believe.”

“Marijuana?”

He nodded. “The first step of the plan is to get her expelled and get people talking. This town runs on the rumor mill.”

“No!” she gasped. It was the first time she had ever said no to him. “I’m appalled.”

“You don’t love Daddy enough to help out?”

“It’s not that I don’t…” April’s voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to even say the words “I love you” to him, so she pivoted back to the real issue at hand. “Sterling Wesley is an upstanding Christian, and God wouldn’t want me to get her falsely expelled from school.”

“Sterling Wesley is a degenerate little slut who drinks, parties, and spreads her legs.”

“ _You’re_ the fucking degenerate!” April yelled, then immediately clasped her hands over her mouth once she realized what she had done. 

It had just come bursting out as soon as he insulted Sterling. She never stood a chance. There was no way she would have been able to contain her hatred after hearing him, or anyone else, call her girl a “degenerate little slut.” Tears sprang to her eyes as the panic set in. Her life was over, and she knew it.

“What did you just—”

She had no choice but to double down. “You tore this family apart when you committed adultery with a prostitute. You just asked me to plant drugs in an innocent girl’s locker so you can get what you want. There is nothing Christian about you, Daddy.”

Her father gave a short, chilling laugh. “I know what this is about.”

April didn’t like how calm he seemed. The closed door just a few feet away kept catching her eye. She began to consider the pros and cons of just making a run for it.

Refusing to look at her, he took another long drink of his scotch and said, “Is Sterling Wesley another one of your special little friends? She must really be a slut if _you_ think you’ve got a chance.”

April thought she would faint, but she made every attempt to appear strong. She scoffed, “I have no idea what you mean.”

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “I’ve pretended not to notice for years, thinking you’d come to your senses and grow out of it someday. I thought maybe if I played the role of the perfect Daddy, bonded with you, and made you feel ashamed every chance I got, you’d abandon your sick desires and get right with God. But here you are, choosing some whore over helping your own family, and you have the nerve to call me a degenerate.” 

Paralyzed with fear, April gripped the edge of the couch until her knuckles turned ghost white. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. He knew, and he hadn’t loved her in _years_. This was the moment that had plagued her nightmares since she was eight, but the reality was so much worse than she ever could have imagined. She wanted desperately to get up and run, but she sat frozen, afraid any movement would set him off.

“You’re going to Hell, April!” he bellowed suddenly, catching her off guard. 

“I’ll see you there!"she spat through her waterfall of tears.

“Get the fuck out!” His face went purple with rage. “I can’t look at you!”

He picked up the unfinished glass of scotch and flung it at April. She screamed and flinched as it shattered against the wall. Fortunately, most of it missed her, but one of the shards grazed the side of her face. Alcohol and salty tears mixed with the blood. Holding her stinging cheek, she sprinted out of his office and down the stairs. She didn’t even check to see if he was following her, but she grabbed her keys and nearly took out a shrub when she floored it out of the driveway just to be safe.

April didn’t stop until a deep sense of dread set in once she was a few miles away from the house. Her vision started to blur, and she pulled over and puked. Her hands were still shaking as she sat in the car and cried until her eyes hurt. It was no use trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. She was completely screwed. She could never go back, and everyone who could possibly help was upset with her recent behavior. 

As depressing as it was, she had always been somewhat prepared to leave her house in a hurry in case something like this ever happened. In the trunk of her car, she kept a bag with a week’s worth of clothes inside. But that didn’t solve any of her bigger problems. Everything she had forgotten to consider when she blew up at her father suddenly raced through her mind at once. Where would she go? How would she pay her Willingham tuition? Who would reliably feed Sergeant Bilko?

April felt too dizzy to keep driving. Swallowing what little pride she had left, she called Hannah B. She had so much apologizing to do, and she resolved right then and there to tell her friend the real story if she picked up. April tearfully prayed that she would.

Hannah B. didn’t.

Although she knew she deserved it after how awful she had been all week, April’s heart still broke. She couldn’t even count on her oldest friend. Taking the last napkin and a mint out of the center console, April futilely attempted to dry her tears and remove the pukey aftertaste from her mouth. A glimpse of her bloody face in the mirror startled her. This was probably the worst she had ever looked.

Then, she remembered the series of messages she had swiped away. Sterling’s increasingly worried messages. She went back, read them, and felt terrible that she’d had to leave her hanging for so long.

**From: SW (7:57 p.m.)**

_Do you want me to call you, or is this an in-person kinda chat?_

**(8:12 p.m.)**

_Hey… still a good time?_

**(8:45 p.m.)**

_April omg are you ok? I’m getting a little worried_

She also had missed a call from her girlfriend around the time she would’ve been running out of her father’s office. April had no other choice. She hit the call button.

Sterling picked up immediately. “Oh my gosh, I’ve been freaking out. I thought maybe you had changed your mind, or maybe something bad had happened, or—”

“Sterling, please help,” April begged, barely holding it together.

“Who do we need to bring in?” Sterling asked jokingly. After a moment of awkward silence, she continued, “Shoot, it’s too early for jokes like that. I’m sorry. Um, I make bad jokes when I’m nervous. Are you okay?”

April drew a shaky breath, then started to cry again. “No, it’s my dad. I still want to talk about some things, but I’m not mad at you. He deserves to rot in prison.”

She could hear the panicked concern in Sterling’s voice when the other girl asked, “Are you crying? April, what’s wrong?”

“He asked me to plant drugs in your locker, so you’d get expelled, and people would gossip about your family to direct the rumor mill away from him. I said no, and Sterling, I… I think he knows. About me, definitely, and maybe about us. I didn’t tell him, but he just seemed like he knew. I got in my car and drove around for a while, but I had a panic attack right before I called you, so I had to stop.”

There was a moment of silence on Sterling’s end, followed by rushed footsteps in the background.

Sterling finally spoke. “Where are you?”

“I’m, like, a block away from Bargain Hole.”

“Stay where you are. Blair is telling our parents that you need to stay with us tonight.”

“Wait, how does Blair know?” April sniffled. “I didn’t hear you tell her.”

“Twin telepathy.” 

April wasn’t sure whether it was stranger that twin telepathy was apparently a real-life phenomenon, or that the Wesleys could experience it despite not being “real” twins. But she was in no place to question anything at the moment. 

“Do your parents know about us?”

“No. As far as they know, we’re friends again, but that’s all. But they know your dad is dangerous, so I don’t think they will ask too many questions.”

April began mentally formulating a sanitized version of the night’s events to tell Mr. and Mrs. Wesley. “Okay…”

“We don’t have to tell them tonight. Especially not if you want to be able to cuddle because they’d make you sleep in the guest room if they knew.”

The promise of getting to cuddle with Sterling soon calmed April down a bit. At least there was a small light at the end of the hellish tunnel.

April’s face softened. “I obviously need to after dealing with all this bullshit.”

“Language, babe. But yes, of course. Anyway, Blair and I are about to leave. She’ll get your car and bring it home, and then I’ll drive you.” Sterling blew a kiss into the phone. “We’ll be there ASAP. I’ll tell her to drive the Volt like we stole it! But, um, you know, safely.”

April blew a kiss in return. “Please hurry. Safely.”

She rallied enough energy to pull into the Bargain Hole parking lot. Closing time was in half an hour, so she hoped Sterling and Blair wouldn’t be too long. Running into any parking lot creeps would be the absolute last thing she needed after this ordeal. While she waited, she prayed and repeated her “narwhals and blue poison frogs” mantra to herself.

When the silver Volt pulled up beside her car, April jumped out and clung to Sterling as tightly as she could. She grabbed her face and kissed her, not even caring that Blair was watching. 

“Oh my gosh, your face,” Sterling gasped. She ran her thumb across the dried blood on April’s cheek.

“He threw a glass at me.”

No one said anything. Sterling pulled April close again and held her for what felt like a long time.

“Do you need to get anything before we head home?” asked Sterling as she softly rubbed April’s back. “Like, a toothbrush or something? Blair can go into Bargain Hole real quick.”

“No, I’ve been keeping a bag in the trunk of my car just in case this ever happened.”

Blair suddenly looked as if she was trying not to start tearing up. “April, that’s the saddest shit I’ve ever heard.”

What happened next was something April could have never anticipated. Blair hugged her. April’s body stiffened when Blair’s arm first made contact, but she relaxed once she realized she didn’t completely hate it. In a single night, she had exploded on her father _and_ allowed Blair Wesley to hug her. Surely, the apocalypse was on its way.

The smaller girl dug her keys out of her pocket and handed them to Blair with a warning. “Please don’t drive it like I’ve seen you drive the Volt.”

“Can’t make any promises!” Blair exclaimed as she opened the door to the expensive car. 

April didn’t know how much longer she would be able to keep her car, but she still didn’t want Blair ruining it with her Blair antics. She followed Sterling into the Volt and buckled up. Sterling was certainly not the best driver to ride with after having a panic attack, but she was still glad to be with her. She grabbed Sterling’s hand and squeezed it as they turned on to the main road.

“Sterl, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course.”

April took a deep breath. She hated to ask this and feared the answer, but she could hardly live with not knowing any longer.

“When we first started seeing each other, were you just trying to get close to me to keep an eye on John?”

“No, April, oh my gosh! Our relationship has always been 100% genuine on my end.” Sterling’s voice grew a little more timid as she continued, “Um, I… I realized how much I liked you at the forensics tournament. I’ve wanted to be with you so badly ever since.”

“The forensics tournament? You mean the day I yelled at you for not bringing up Craig Wu’s philandering mother made you _like_ me?”

“Yeah, that ignited something in me, to say the least.”

April looked over at her blushing girlfriend and couldn’t help but smile for the first time all night. She would have leaned over and kissed Sterling’s cheek, but they had already hit the curb twice, and she didn’t want to distract her any further. 

They pulled into the Wesleys’ driveway. Blair had parked April’s car where it couldn’t be seen directly from the street. She studied it carefully on their way into the house. No scratches.

The amount of attention April received once inside the Wesleys’ house was a bit overwhelming, but she also kind of enjoyed feeling so cared for. Mr. Wesley offered her various snacks while Mrs. Wesley made a fuss over her bloody face. She stood in the kitchen and wiped away the dried blood while Mrs. Wesley went off to get the first-aid kit. Sterling stayed by her side the entire time, stress-eating mini candy bars meant for the upcoming neighborhood Halloween party.

“Did your Daddy do this to your face?” asked a horrified Mrs. Wesley upon her return.

“Yes, ma’am. He threw his glass of scotch at me.”

The older woman shook her head and pressed a bandaid to April’s cheek. “Well, I don’t see any pieces stuck in there, so that’s good, at least.”

“Blair, honey, go put April’s stuff upstairs,” said Mr. Wesley.

“April can sleep in my room if she wants!” Sterling insisted, perhaps a little too quickly. “You know, if she needs a friend or something. She’s been through a lot.”

“Thank you, Sterling. That would be lovely,” said April, trying her best to ignore Blair winking at her before disappearing upstairs with her bag.

“I don’t mean to pry, but do you mind telling us what happened?” inquired Mr. Wesley. “I know John isn’t the nicest guy around, but I can’t ever imagine throwing glass at one of my girls, no matter how much they get on my nerves.”

“Dad!” hissed Sterling. “Don’t make her talk about it.”

“No, Sterling, it’s okay.” April turned to face Mr. Wesley. “He asked me to do something illegal to help him restore his reputation. I wouldn’t, so he threw his drink at me and told me to leave the house. I’m… afraid to go back.”

Mrs. Wesley wrapped April up in a hug that felt more motherly than any she had ever received. “You can stay here as long as you need to, sweetie.”

Mr. Wesley nodded. “I’ll deal with him if he comes looking around!”

“Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Wesley patted April’s shoulder. “You girls should go upstairs and get some rest. It’s late.”

April and Sterling went upstairs and changed into pajamas. The smaller girl completed her nighttime routine on autopilot and collapsed in Sterling’s bed. A wave of exhaustion hit her all at once. She had one foot in dreamland when she felt the bed dip beside her and Sterling’s familiar warmth surround her. April turned around to face her girlfriend and offered a sleepy smile.

“I’ve got you,” Sterling whispered. She inched forward and pressed the softest kiss to April’s waiting lips.

“And I’ve got _you_ ,” April whispered back, burying her face in Sterling’s chest. 

April would be lying if she tried to pretend she wasn’t terrified of what tomorrow might bring. Her life had undoubtedly changed forever, and she was not ready to deal with the fallout from her confrontation with her father. Word travelled fast, so she also knew there was a chance that people at school and church were about to find out her biggest secret. Maybe she would tell Ellen what happened and seek her guidance. Ellen was by far the most trustworthy adult in their community. Surely, she would know what to do.

But for the time being, none of that mattered. She’d had years’ worth of nightmare visions about her father finding out she was gay, and none had ever included the support of a loving girlfriend. At least she was lucky in that regard. She lifted her head up for a moment to admire Sterling, who was already fast asleep. April hugged her girlfriend and focused on her gentle breathing.

Sterling had her, and that meant she was home.


End file.
